hey all... i'll get right to it.

i currently drive a 2000 saab 9-3 convertible, with mods equivalent to what we call stage 3+ (full turboback, better shocks and springs, ARB upgrades, street/track pads and rotors with braided brake lines, lighter wheels, harder trans and engine mounts, and various braces and poly bushings).

to put it bluntly, it is expensive as hell to maintain, and you really don't get what you pay for in performance (all my performance hardware, not counting installation or maintenance - just the parts cost - is almost $8k).

i want a better bang for my buck, and i want a car that has more than one tuning option (there are 2-3 major saab tuners in the world... not a lot of options). one thing i do like about the saab is that my car is the only one like it in a couple hundred miles - if you see (and hear) a tuned silver saab convertible in northern california, it's probably me. i know that there are more rx8s than saabs, but i'd still like to have a distinctive vehicle.

can an rx8 fit this bill? this car will begin as a modified daily driver, but will evolve into a street/track and (hopefully) a full-race car. i'll stop here before delving into the specific numbers and parts i'm thinking about, but do you guys think a mazda would make me happy?

thanks for any input, links, info, constructive abuse, and so on...

 

to give you an idea of my end goal, i'm looking at 350+ ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheels (eventually), and the car will see track days. over the few years of mods i'll be doing, it will need to develop handling, power, and especially reliability to handle a four-hour thrashing at the track and then drive me back home in reasonable comfort.

will this car fit the bill? or should i be looking for a platform better suited to this sort of requirement?

 

If you're looking for that kind of torque, the RX-8 is definitely not for you. It's a high horsepower motor with barely any torque (think Civic Si dichotomy). You should consider other cars. Now, where to start?

If you're sure on a Mazda, there is the Mazdaspeed6 that was in production for two years...they can be very quick if heavily modded. They are quite heavy though, so you will be passed by similarly modified WRX Sti Imprezas and, my personal choice, Evos. If it's RWD you want, I hear the Sky Redline/Solstie GXP have been very successful at the track.

Still, there's a lot of stuff out there. Are you set on a coupe or a sedan?