Anyone here obsessed with cars? I am. I'm curious to see if there are many petrolheads out there because there aren't many where I live. Just lots of chavs in their chavved-up Hondas and Toyotas. And since a chav and a petrolhead are two different people... you get the idea.

Anyone out there interested in cars, here's an icebreaker:

1. What do you drive? If you don't own a car, what did you have last, or what are you hoping to buy? And why?

2. You're given £100k (or $200k) to spend on a car. What would you buy and why?

Me? I own two cars but drive one. I own a Peugeot 206 GTi and a rare Porsche 928-S. I only drive the Peugeot though because being 19 is a b*tch when it comes to insurance.

The 928-S is a beauty though. Perfect condition (and believed to be 1 of only 14 in the UK, as the 'S' model was short-lived and was limited in number in the UK even back when it was in production). It's metallic blue, and has a 4.8L V8, putting out about 400bhp. It's an automatic though, and 3 speed. But it's good for about 160mph. My stepdad drives it at the moment, mainly because he restored it for me, but also it keeps the car fit and healthy, rather than leaving it idle for years until my insurance comes down enough for me to get it insured. In the meantime, i'll stick with the 206. Gets me from A to B, and whilst 138bhp isn't exactly powerful, it is gutsy. Think Type R honda civic, but unreliable. And slightly less chavvy.


If i were given £100k to spend on a car, i'd either get myself a Ford GT40 (granted it's the only real car America has been able to build successfully, and it's one of the best in the world), or an Audi R8. I know the Audi isn't quite as flashy as the GT40, but it's fast, comfortable and most importantly, it's reliable.

Failing either of those, i'm not sure what i'd get. Probably a BMW M6. Not the best looking car in the world, but it's got menacing presence, and whilst most people hate all the high-tech computer stuff that it's got, i'd love it - you could fettle with the car's performance without having to lift up a single wrench. And since nearly everybody has at least 1 complaint about performance when they drive a car for the first time, i think it's an ingenius idea.

What about the rest of you?

Not trying to flame or the like but the Corvette Z06 is another car the US has built, and its as good as the GT40(give or take). But I would buy a Lingenfelter 427 CID 800 HP Twin Turbo C6 ZO6 Corvette. 800hp and 800 lbs ft of torque, I would also have another 80k to spend.

Granted, the Z06 is a good car, but as a supercar it does look a bit bland. I love the GT40 because it looks so unique. As for the Z06, to the untrained eye, it's just a slightly bigger C6. Fast as hell, but then so is the BMW M6. And would you buy that? No. Because to the untrained eye, it just looks like an ordinary 6-series BMW.

I like corvettes for style rather than power, which means in my eyes, if i were to buy a corvette, i'd only buy the Corvette Stingray.

But i take back what i said about the GT40 being the only real car that America has produced. European and japanese cars are the best only because of their performance and, for some, their interiors. For america, those aspects miss the point. In America, only style matters. The Mustang (and in fact, ANY American Muscle) is popular because they're true classics. You don't buy them for their build quality, or their performance, but for the style and presence they bring. That's why the Mustang GT has always been a popular car - it just emanates coolness. Even if it does have prehistoric suspension (which seems to be the case with America - the Mustang uses a simple tortion bar for rear suspension, whilst the C6 Corvette uses Leaf Springs. Which is what you'd find on a pram, or a pushbike.)

I agree with you that the Vette is a bit bland, but none the less its still a head turner. I will agree that most US made cars dont have the best interiors, but having 100% real hand crafted leather made from hand fed cows isnt a huge deal for us.(Just cracking a joke at how good european interiors are.) But the Mustang is becoming watered down, the GT is a 5 speed, not even a 6 anymore. But in the coolness factor, the z06 is cool, but its nothing but total performance. The car was totaly rebuilt in the quest for handling,speed, ect. With the rear end leafsprings, I agree they are a bit out of date, but they do their job quite well. As a $70k car can out perform most 150k+ european supercars around the Nurburgring. Dont get me wrong, I love Zondas and Lambos, but price for the performance of the Vette, its is an outstanding value.