Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

^ When I was cycling in Swizerland, I saw two of these in mind conidion roar past me up an ascent - made me get my ass up the hill smartish to see if they would be waiting at the top.

Unfortunately they weren't, but, for those 5 seconds i was in awe.

My Grandfather had a white one, with red leather interior! It was amazing!!

Absolutely stunning cars, my fiancées old man has one, silver and red, haven't seen it in the flesh yet but pictures look great!! Mercedes should have just rebuilt those with modern running gear using all the technological advances they've had since the original instead of designing the new one...

How awesome would that be!! New 200mph 300SL with Sat-Nav and all mod cons :)

NIce idea! Sadly it got sold when I was very young and there are only a few old pics knocking around, but yes, stunning cars, one of my favs.

Absolutely stunning cars, my fiancées old man has one, silver and red, haven't seen it in the flesh yet but pictures look great!! Mercedes should have just rebuilt those with modern running gear using all the technological advances they've had since the original instead of designing the new one...

How awesome would that be!! New 200mph 300SL with Sat-Nav and all mod cons :)

Car geekery going on here, but they wouldn't rebuild it (at least not an identical design anyway) as that front end wouldn't pass European NCAP standards for roadgoing vehicles, due to it not having the "scoop" effect they like modern cars to have when they hit a pedestrian, which is designed to increase survival chances, and decrease likelihood of injury. But yeah beautiful car, and great photo, reminds me of this really great automobile photographer I saw on strobist.com will have to see if I can find a link for you guys.

Ahhh here it is, some stunning automotive photography for you all to enjoy :) http://kenbrownart.com/images/automotive/index.html

Do you think we'd get away with having a car appreciation social group forum? I'd like to have one but I'm sure we'd come in for torrents of abuse from other forum members...

Some great pics there, thanks Jimbo

Well, judging by how I almost got lynched for wanting a freestyle fixed forum.......

Hmm... Upsetting... Maybe we could have a private one under a sneaky name... like the Motorised Quadricycle Appreciation Society?

Or...Outcasts united :p

Or....The friendly forum rejects!

Ok...

Input needed...

Pondering the purchase of a new motor vehicle for myself in the coming months...

Criteria:

Fun drive, not so much worried about top speed, something snappy though...

Economy, not too hard on juice, preferably around the 2.0l mark (before you start, a 3.8 Porsche is not going to be insurable at my age... So there... not looking at anyone in particular...B ;)

Looks, I want a stunner :)

Not really all that bothered about practicality or comfort (within reason)

I've been thinking of the following

Honda S2000

BMW Z4

Mini Cooper S JCW

Audi TT Tdi

All to be had quite reasonably second hand at the moment due to the state of the car trade... Opionions?? Recommendations??

Have at it... ;)

Out of all of those, the s2000 will be the nicest/most fun to drive, the ridiculously high revving screaming vtec will ensure that! (assuming its the older 2l model you go for), and the handling/driving experience is simply amazing, it feels far more alive, with superior driver feedback compared to the other cars, plus with some nice wheels, a bit of a suspension drop, and a few cheap and easy cosmetic mods they can look really nice.

Or maybe the mini if you fancy front wheel drive, but I wouldn't bother with the beemer or the audi, both overweight barges that offer nothing but a numb driving experience compared to the other two.

I was thinking the mini alright, I've been driving Mini's for years now, I've had two One D's and I have an old Works Cooper S so I'm tempted to stick with them... that said the S2000 is quite nice and definitely cheaper... but insurance in the Mini is cheaper and it'll be cheaper to run... Hmm... Why hasn't M suggested a Lotus to me yet...

Yeah I had a mini cooper for a while, and i've been out in the cooper s, impressively punchy, but go for a drive in an s2000, its a different experience altogether ;)

Yeah I guess trying both is the best option really... I do like that the Mini is a bit more exclusive though... you don't see too many JCW's around, a lot less than you do S2000's anyway...

The GP is an amazing MINI, but for less £££ than a GP you can buy a standard Cooper S and make it far better than a GP.

Check out MiniTorque.com if you're interested in New MINIs ;)

The S2000 is one of my all time favourite cars, and I think that's strong words considering I have a classic and new MINI.

The GP is an amazing MINI, but for less £££ than a GP you can buy a standard Cooper S and make it far better than a GP.

Check out MiniTorque.com if you're interested in New MINIs ;)

The S2000 is one of my all time favourite cars, and I think that's strong words considering I have a classic and new MINI.

Likewise, awesome car, Honda don't do it often....but when they do, they do it right ;)

Hmm... I don't know... there's a GP/JCW (Haven't seen it myself yet) for sale at our local BMW/MINI Garage for about €30,000 which is a good deal and it would come with service and all that jazz which is handy when you do as much mileage as I do... €15 - 20,000 would buy a very tidy S2000 at the moment though...

Credit crunch . . . . WHAT credit crunch! ;)

Lol, no recession round here ;)

Not really... but hopefully we'll have gotten back on top in the next few months allowing me to take advantage of everyone elses misery and pick up a bargain on a nice set of wheels :)

Got to love renewable energy, the new IT they say :D

http://www.blinkmotorsport.com/

I prefer the S1 versions myself but that engine in an Elise is a great combo.

...or, you could do what I would do, and get this http://pistonheads.com/sales/702908.htm

Relatively light on fuel, really cheap insurance, 0-60 in around 3 seconds and nothing will touch you in the corners, it may be taking your "Not really all that bothered about practicality or comfort (within reason)" a bit far though =P

Here's a more practical version http://pistonheads.com/sales/950388.htm

Hope that helps (though I'm guessing it didn't really =P)

What is this?? Where am I supposed to plug my iPod in so I can listen to Jay-Z?? Psshhhht!