... and here comes the Ahole to the party
this is really long, sorry, but I always feel the need to substantiate my points beyond what is necessary or reasonable
While my dream car yet remains a 1970 Bud Moore Boss 302 that I would certainly license and drive on a regular basis (I tried to get BofA to loan me money when I was around 20 with not much more than a part time job to buy one in SoCal back when it was "only" $125K to get it
I told them I needed a mortgage style loan for 30 years and the guy just looked at me like I was nuts. Of course, that would have been my best investment ever had he not nearly laughed me out of the bank - ah to be young again) and I dig the concept of that car,
I would have a hard time justifying spending that kind of cash on it.
Keep in mind I believe it would be considered a "new vehicle" in CA which means to register it you must pass smog, so street driving is pretty much out for that state. CO doesn't require visual but still smog, maybe with cats you could register but not sure how they treat a car with no inner fenderwells, etc from a visual inspection for road use.
Throwing that out the window and assuming one can register it:
1. I looked at the options and it would be around $85K for a car that AFAIK doesn't have a class, certainly not here in CO and I doubt seriously even in the hot rod capital of the world, CA. I have a buddy in SoCal that transformed his circle track car into a NASA class car and there just wasn't that many competitors, certainly not like a circle track event, so it gets a little pointless to W2W with the same 5 or 10 guys at a two tracks. Car just sits in his shop now. So you would end up running this car with some random club or category and then you don't have real competition.
2. Don't be nuts like me and buy a collectors edition of the Z06 for $70K (see#3), buy a base, high mile early year C6 for around $25K. Sell the powertrain, fenders, hood and so forth to get more funds but keep the interior complete minus seats, maybe have $15K out of pocket let's say. Now put $70K into
that car. 700HP LS7, full race trans, double adj coilovers, wing, splitter, carbon wide body kit, carbon hood, keep the interior for street use and all glass just with race seats, caged, ZR1/Ferrari brakes like my Carbon has, wider wheels and tires, blah blah blah. Run it in T1 with a ton of ballast or an unlimited category with SCCA or NASA which means you are with the other big bore cars but are just
killing the whole field including that Howe car. After the track session is over and your fully erect trouser snake subsides enough to drive it home, you can swap exh once a year to pass smog in CO, and drive to work every day with the AC on. In fact, according to the commercials I have seen, probably shouldn't be at the track for more than four hours without seeking medical attention.
3. Back to the $85K and a little insight to my long term thoughts. I recently bought a Carbon Edition Z06 Corvette for $15K less than that. Bone stock, 1000 miles on the odo, on stock run flat tires I ran a 2:03.2, within 5.4 seconds of the lap record 1:57.8 in SCCA T1 held by the championship winning fully prepped Corvette Grand Sport. The guy that holds that record as well as the championship every year for at least a decade was out there that day and immediately let me know he has been 3 seconds quicker in a Z06
but it was my first time with the car on a track (tho' not my first rodeo by any means) and 85-90 degree temps. First rule of racing, know your excuses before you even hit the tarmac hahaha. Nonetheless, he is stating the Z06
stock is within 2.5 seconds of his record.
I am in process of finalizing an order on Forgeline wheels and Hoosiers for the track. If I felt like voiding the powertrain warranty on the LS7 I could throw an SCCA legal cam at it and a few other legal items and tune a 600HP combo easy. Throw a cage in it, race seat, simple straight exhaust, and on track days weight ballast on the passenger floor and I have a serious SCCA legal T1 car to go raise hell with a class that has car turnout
nationwide. Probably a 1:55 car, easy 1:53 without ballast but still full interior and creature comforts. $85K maybe $90K if I paid for some of the labor instead of do it myself. Porsche RSR cars are around 1:50s, pros have done 1:48s I have heard practicing out there. If I am within 3 seconds in a fully street legal car with full interior, I would call that good. The aforementioned champ had his essentially stock ZR1 out at that track with a 700HP tune up with stock exh and cats, on similar Forgeline and Hos I will be getting and ran 1:53, so that is where I make my comparo, and the Carbon is 200 or 250 lbs lighter, but with lower HP, I will say 1:53s.
I will leave the AC in it, all the power stuff and have a truly street legal car for the same money, fully sealed driver compartment, that I could drive every day, pass smog if I put the stock exhaust on with cats between track days in CO, and be either near the same lap times as that Howe car or close enough to be happy.
When they had spec trucks running out at Willow Springs that you could get into for around $25-$30K, that makes all the sense in the world to me. They were amazingly fast, in the 1:22 range IIRC on WSIR which is flat hauling, at a very affordable price when one considers this is all a discussion of disposable income.
Sorry, not trying to be a d!ck in the mash potatoes sort of dude, but I was really stoked looking at the brochure until I got to the price list. I guess the whole point of my post is I can pick a stock, already legal car and kill it for the same money so I don't see the value proposition in the Howe car
here in the states. Oversees American cars come with a lot of extra taxes and shipping, so that may be why it is so popular and likely a better value than hopping up a modern Vette.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
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