Peak 370

I had better explain. 1/ The horrific fit of body panels. Look like they were cobbled together in a barn by a bunch of drunks. 2/ The interior quality. Like a 50s race car, not a 90s road car. 3/ Rubbish gear change. Lumpy and with ratios far too wide for the turbo lag-laden engine. 4/ Brakes poor, indeed totally inadequate for a car which can do 201 mph. (Good luck getting that speed though.) 5/ An engine far too hastily rolled out. 478 bhp from 2.9 litres, but with horrific turbo lag. The 458 is a light year better. A 3.5 engine would have been a lot better. 6/ Fit and finish on a par with a 90s Kia. It's a kit car. 1,100 kgs. 478 bhp. A million pounds to buy a mint one now. Give me my mate's 750 bhp Ultima pushrod Corvette any day. 1,200 kgs. You can have one in top nick for £80,000 with that power and real shove from idle. 580 lbs-ft. 0-100 in 5 seconds.

Way better? Corvette Z06 2007. Civic 2.2 TD. Cayman S. Monaro 6.2. Way worse? Just one car. THE most over rated sports car of all time. Ferrari F40. Said to be the best in it's class by many. I drove one for 220 miles. Awful. Esp at what they cost!!

Yes, a Honda Civic 2.2TD. 57/08 plate at a guess. Celtic tuning remap on our one gave it 40 bhp more and 3-5mpg more. 138 bhp to 177 bhp done at your home cheaply. Under rated car. Great quality and load space.

Rear exhaust box only considered, too.

My error, I forgot to say I want a sports exhaust. Now amended!

Any make of perfomance exhaust considered, with or without sports cats.

Are Akrapovic as stupidly expensive for cars as they are for bikes? A Honda CBR1000R I bought had one fitted and yes, it was the higher end version but £2,100 for an exhaust pipe; on a bike which costs £11,000 new? My mate paid £1,600 for one for his Yamaha 600. Crazy price.

Price?

1,200 plus bhp has to be felt to be understood. 6 speed manual 'box. Over 100 mph in 2nd. 200 mph in 5th. 8.4 litres of 50s technology pushrod V10 and two turbos big enough to hide dogs.

Ekona, you are right about light weight really counting. My current Caterham has 265 bhp and weighs 450 kgs. Sadly it has seen better days aesthetically, but the motor is sound and it is extremely quick, although 125 mph is it's effective top speed. Jet set, I hope you like the taste of hats! I had a Vanden Plas 4 litre R, as the were known, back in 1987. Very modest bhp and 3 speed auto, I I r c?

I will try and find his You Tube video but in April I drove a guy's 1,237 bhp Dodge Viper. It handled like a 60s muscle car but the outright speed was neck altering. Several firms are now getting 1,200 bhp from the big Dodge/Chrysler engine.

But I bet 350 bhp and under 700 kgs felt good. My 2004 Caterham isn't all that powerful but weighs nothing so probably feels similar in the 'go' department to the Lola.

Thinking road cars here!

As an aside, I would not work in Dubai for £3,000 a week. Nor Qatar Those places are full of false promises, crazy rules and stupid heat.

The GT86 and it's Subaru twin has one fault. Not enough power. Many 50 mpg diesel hatchbacks accelerate quicker and that is criminal in a sports car however good it handles.

We had a good old car-aholic get together last night at a rural pub and the subject turned to very high performance cars, after a local brought his 750 bhp Ultima out in the evening sunshine. That thing has astonishing shove from tickover to 7,000 rpm. What was the maddest car you drove?

£12K is serious money and I agree with the person who said he'd wait for a 911. The power may be similar to some 911s, but overall the Porsche is in another league

I guess I am like a lot of us car fanatics. If I sat down and did the common sense/maths I'd be in a 2009 Golf GTI! But I am a spendthrift when it comes to buying cars, I just try and not spend too much on mods.

Plus, they are amazing cars and everyone should own one some time.

Jumping 350. Yes, it will cost a bit, as my 996 turbo cost me lots to run, as did my Gallardo. But I have a modern 4x4 for the chores and motorway/family treks, so my sports cars tend to do 5,000 miles a year max. Servicing will not be bad and an immaculate car with a 12 month warranty should be fine.

Purely on distance I am going with RS Leeds for an uprev. Leaving it at that until my next car drops into my price bracket. (2011/12 GTR).

One other thing. When i lived for 2 years in the USA I followed the local car scene closely and had my 2007 Corvette checked on the dyno. It was a test bed for a firm doing all Yank ohv tuning, pipes, maps, intakes, superchargers etc. The difference a boiling hot day/humid day/wet day/cold day/99 octane fuel made, was as much or less as one sports exhaust gave! An unusually cold day plus 99 gave it a real boost! We also found that a 4% increase in power was not noticed on the road.

17 more bhp with a better power band is worth it yes, I accept that. From just a map?

£474 is not cheap, to me, for an extra 5 bhp. Not at all. The comparison with the Litchfield GTR is interesting. They remapped my R33 from 276 bhp to 380 for £550. Yes, the car was probably 310 to start with but it was well worth it. How is £474 cheap for 5 bhp more? That's barely more than what 99 octane will give you.

One related point I would like to make. Concerning getting the best of everything. Well most of us i would guess want the best. But the best remap, the best tyres, the best place for servicing, the best exhaust, et al...how many of us can afford to have the best of everything? If I had endless amounts of dosh I was able/prepared to throw at this lovely car, I'd probably already be in a 2012 Nissan GTR! That is my next car most likely and it must wait! For most people i know, cost, sadly, is a big player.