Peak 370

If anyone has £50,000 to spend on something gorgeous and fast, orgasmic sounding and great on resale value, get yourself a Ferrari 550 Maranello.

I had one and it was ***king amazing.

Light weight and good if not great power, is what my track day/sunny day car is.

Caterham R500 Superlight.

265 bhp and 450 kgs. More power than the 4C and around half the weight.

I paid £18,000 for it (it's a 2004 car) in 2010.

But the 4C could so easily have been 300 bhp and 1100 kgs.

That engine it has is just not up to a £50,000 spend.

231 bhp is not enough for £50,000.

Don't buy it. It looks great but has a pathetic 1750c warm/hot hatch engine.

Laggy when you are not trying, harsh and strained when you are.

Nah, that car was crying out for a 300 bhp, 3000cc, N/ASP, V6.

Or a 2.2 turbo with 300 bhp.

I tend to put the best I can find in all my cars, any thoughts on this for the 370?

Spot on Ross. It may be just a Nissan as someone said but badge snobbery is just that, badge snobbery.

My car is white and sat in a lay by yesterday looked every bit as sleek and racy as many Ferraris. Some Italian sports cars are plain ugly.

The 350 is fine, they just moved the game on a lot with the 370.

Very few buy to please others, but we all find it nice when other car owners are kind about your wheels.

No re-assurance needed here. I am very aware how good or otherwise the 370 is.

I have had a modern Maserati and it was one of the most over-rated cars I have had.

Quattroporte, 2006.

Heavy, not very quick or powerful and the badge and arguably the looks were it's best 2 points.

Yes the Dodge (a mate in America has one with 1237 bhp) is a crazy drive.

It runs std gearing, so once the turbo lag has gone it just slaughters the ratios like they were on a trials bike.

Do you rate the Mokka? She has spoken of getting one.

The styling is way better than the 350 but then it should be, the company improved the new model for a reason!

I admit that until recently I did not realise just how much they have improved the 370 v the 350.

The changes are significant, aesthetically and very useful.

PS. Someone has already taken the hit on my 370!

Fully optioned one owner car with 19,000 miles and 12 months warranty for £18,500. May 2011 car.

You buy our old and thrashed 370s and you can have all the repair bills and other upkeep!

:-)

S*d it! I will be in Provence! Damn.

Parked alongside a 350 it really makes the older car look dated.

Until I met our new member from Mansfield, I'd not seen them together.

People at the gym, people I know via music circles, mates I've known from school; everyone, just about loves the style of this car. The ones who don't know what it is think it's Italian exotica!

Looking again today at this white beast, they're right.

It's way better looking than I had realised.

7 speed auto every time over that manual.

Downsides. Putting a lot of miles on the clock of the 370 and the wife reminding me that she totally dislikes low-profile tyres and road noise on long journeys.

Upsides. Meeting quite a few mates in the Highlands (whilst she meets and walks with hers) and doing some serious hooning in the glens. Driving my buddy's 1,012 bhp Dodge Viper and his 57 Chevvy.

Happy days.

It's my next car, one I have driven but not yet owned. But weight is too high. Or has every single other maker got it all wrong with their cars? Maybe if Ferrari added 300 kgs to the 458 it would be BETTER?

(Noooooooooooooooo).

I don't see anyone here massaging their ego on either side of the debate.

Certainly not me. I am using years of experience with road and race bikes and cars.

That's all. I suspect that the cost is the reason for no weight reduction since it's birth.

I had a 58 plate S2000.

Loved everything about it bar the cramped cabin and the total lack of any low and mid-range grunt.

Every race bike and race car I have driven or owned have stripped weight out to go quicker. The GTR does what it does DESPITE the lard, not because of it. Every car and bike I have had has been quicker, handled better and stopped quicker if I lightened it. Which is a fair few.

If the GTR was to shed 150 kgs it could use smaller, lighter wheels and brakes, for one thing.

Weight means heat, too.

Every extra kg is weight that needs to be moved forward, stopped and turned.

WHERE you lose it also plays a part.

Weight lost from the wheels or drivetrain has a bigger effect than say lighter seats.

If I could I would, the pic never loads here for some reason.

Anyone who wants to see it leave me email address. I can mail it to you.

I have a 2004 Caterham R500 Superlight. It tells the driver all you need to know about adding lightness.

265 bhp. 450 kgs.

0-60 around 2.5 and 0-100 in under 7.

From 4 non-charged cylinders.