CSR 39 reviews part 3 of 3
Note: As I mentioned in the post, the “MOD” spec is suggestive, and I have changed a few things that benefit the competition, like fitting semi-slicks where lacking, but also cuts where it exceeded the budget.
Also, semi-slicks are very legal in Belgium, so often I’ll be swapping these on at free cost since I assume that there’s a good chance tyres would need to be replaced (soon) anyhow.
@AirJordan : Smooth Pretaco R 2010
price now: 16,700 euros
Thiiiiis one’s still pretty fresh of the showroom, well, relatively speaking ofcourse. Young and still not rusty or with very worn parts. It does show in the price though. But let’s see………809 kg. Nice!..It doesn’t have radio does it? Nope it doesn’t. Oh and hardly has any safety features. Yep, the Smooth Pretaco R is made for one thing and one thing only: driving no matter the consequences, and boy does it do that good. Having only 800 kg in a modern car is quite special, especially with a lovely 2 litre V6 churning out 212 hp. Handles nice and sharp, happily spins its tyres under 70 kph and revs to 9200! It does Zolder in 1:53 and is a blast to drive. At low cost too, the engine is small and efficient, the tyres are only 225 mm wide, and the car doesn’t even have an undertray making small maintenance jobs easy.
This car is risky when things go wrong, but it hits the buttons oh so right.
@thecarlover : Megacorp SMSC1 S-8 1990
Price now: 14,890 euros
This looks like KITT and a space shuttle had sex, in the good way. It weighs a bit over a tonne, has a V8 that’s fuel efficient, but that’s where the buts start. The engine is reliable and has loads of torque, but feels rather lazy, and not sporty. Don’t get me wrong, I love the V8 roar, but just 238 hp out of a 3.8L DOHC engine makes it more of a GT engine. It’s swift around Zolder, lapping it in 1:57, despite the heavy oversteer. But yay, oversteer, the car’s pretty American in that aspect, getting some good sideways in every corner with a roaring V8, and if you keep it tidy the tyres will last a good while and be affordable to replace too (235 mm). Yet, at this price point for its age the car fails to wow me enough to put the maintenance in to keep it in shape and deal with the trackday poundings as bits must be quite worn, even though its reliability held up quite well to modern standards.
Space age V8 MR rocketship, but space age nearly 30 years ago sadly.
@ramthecowy : Cavallera Cierzo 2003
Price now: 12,500 euros
Does an 1.3L inline 3 belong on the track? Stay tuned to find out! It does produce 150 hp, but they aren’t “torque-y” ones, far from that. The engine isn’t lean burn either, but it’s tiny, so hell, the fuel economy still is fine and well. And who knew that inline 3’s could be such lovely music instruments? This one sounds so raw, making the car tremble with its un-smoothness at above 8000 rpm only adds to the experience. The chassis is light, relatively comfortable with a good stereo set, but sadly understeers quite drastically, it does lap Zolder in under 2:08, but eliminating that understeer easily makes the car 2 seconds faster. Asides from that it’s well made, and easy to maintain, just not quite the track weapon, the car rather feels like a wooden training sword. Probably would make a decent weekend car though, and is easy to drive for longer distances.
@rcracer11m : Mott Works Racing MT400
Price now: 15,200 euros
Christ, what a black beast. Its aggressive homologation shape sure does leave an impression. It is pricey for its age, but it does make you feel rather special. Plenty of downforce on the MT400, keeping its top speed below 250 kph, but its cornering at 1.35g’s on semi slicks! With quite affordably sized ones too, 265 mm wide at most. It’s amazing how a 350 hp 1300 kg creature like this can lap Zolder in 1:52.5. Sadly its V8 does burn a fair bit of fuel though, but atleast the efficiency graph is pretty linear, even without VVL, an impressive feat. The MT400 stays nice and flat, the front is rather harsh though, but it’s alright for a track car. The bottom end is a fully covered downforce one, so maintenance won’t be easy, along with a V8.
It may be relatively heavy, but I feel rather drawn to this black track creature. It’s raw, it’s mean. It’s heavy on fuel too, but damn, what a beast, what a beast.
@LordLetto : Welp 2003
Price now: 20,570 euros
Whelp, this is one expensive hatchback, especially for one from 2003. It can do Zolder in 2:05 though, and has a great sounding 1L engine…A very, very expensive one. Oh, and the welp oversteers, a lot, with such a short wheelbase that thing gonna do pirouettes like no ballerina could replicate. The Welp is light though, with only 875kg, having no power steering is a lot of fun (and lets you know when a pirouette is going to happen). The brakes lock up below halfway the brake pedal travel though, which is…rather hard to drive. The interior is bare bones too, rubbish seats, no entertainment. I’m really sorry, but at this price point, just…no. The engine has a lot of promise, but the engineering on it got out of hand.
@4LGE : Taore RAY 2.7 AVT 1996
Price now: 7,760 euros
A classy 90’s coupe, nice n relatively light for a coupe and a sweet inline 6. Does Zolder in 1:57 too, not bad at all for the money! Only sad that the engine isn’t super economical, but hey. This car should be great on a drift course aswell. The handling is sharp and the car feels nimble with yet a comfortable suspension. This wouldn’t make a bad daily driver at all. Hell, it has potential to become a drift car, a fun daily, and a good track car. Sadly I’m just looking for the latter though. But there’s still plenty of money in the piggy to turbocharge the car and have some fun, even with the maintenance. Only sad that it’s a bit older car, and maybe there are better cars for the track around. A wonderful coupe nonetheless.
@Rk38 : Maesima NRZ-996 2004
Price now: 13,708 euros
Speaking about a never coupe, here’s the Maesima NRZ-966 in ST form, coming in at an affordable price, affordable tyres and pretty affordable fuel economy. Now this would make a great daily driver. Comfortable interior, a great V6 that produces 275 hp. Just, could do with being a bit lighter. Dropping the rear seats out already shaves off nearly 70 kg dropping it from nearly 1500 kg to 1430 kg. And dropping the time from 2:01 around Zolder on semi-slicks to 2:00. It is a shame though that the engine isn’t the most reliable one, yes conrods, I’m looking at you. Pushing the engine into its top rpms often probably would kill it at a trackday sooner or later. With the maintenance to whip her back into shape I don’t have much for mods, tossing seats out is cheap, but there’s still a fair bit work to do to diet it into track spec, even though the car handles beautifully.
A great daily driver, but not quite the track weapon.
@Leonardo9613 : Baltazar Zeppelin Hydrogen 2011
Price now: 14,960 euros
Hello my old love, I see that you’ve been working out. Doing 2:00’s now on Zolder, but still as affordable and reliable as ever, quite possibly the best choice in the competition in that aspect. To drop those pounds, the Zeppelin also dropped entertainment, but the engine is there to entertain instead, with a wide powerband, and 168 hp. The handling is spot on for the track, and despite being modern and affordable it is fun. But there are crazier ones out there, would I settle for a Zeppelin again? It has its defects with some light brake fade and engine that doesn’t like it when you try looking for these very top rpms, but it is a sane choice, a fun sane one. An old friend to keep on taking to the track? It might be tough decision whether to move on or to stay with the Zeppelins. They’re good pals, good dogs.
@strop : OranjeAuto Lelijk Touring 2005
Price now: 14,860 euros
Going from an orange old friend to, well, gosh… something not even its own mother could love, quite literally. But history has proven that you don’t need to be beautiful if you’re talented. And yeah, this fella is talented. Going around Zolder in 1:51.70 while remaining live-able on the street, even the engine has linear torque from 2500 rpm on! Fine tuned to the very sharpest edge, reliable. Sitting in this car is like trying to steer a huge dining table around the track, sitting low at the rear axle with the nose steering miles ahead. It’s alright though, sitting at the rear axle is useful with an FR setup, the butt of the car wiggles, and yours does too, perfect. A great track car, can’t even nitpick on this one, damn you OranjeAuto.
Now shoo shoo, I’ve got to pick which car to buy.
. A CD and advanced safety cost me alot of weight (but, hey, you gotta stay safe on track too, right?) but in the end I felt it to be the right choice for a limited edition production car.