What other “raw” cars have you owned ?

[Rob]

Morgan 3 wheeler, 100hp, 525kg, no power assisted anything, no stereo, no windscreen wipers, no doors, air cooled, great fun to drive especially at legal speeds😁

 

[DJW]

Only live 20 miles from the Malvern factory and have done the tours there twice. An amazing place and loved a test drive in the 3 wheeler. Lucky man !

 

[Pav]

My 1990 Mini Cooper RSP, been in the family since new. Restored a few years back and upgraded to '1380 S' 110bhp spec (available from John Cooper in the early 1990s.) Don't let the fancy seats fool you, it's definitely a raw experience!

 

[Rob]

Only live 20 miles from the Malvern factory and have done the tours there twice. An amazing place and loved a test drive in the 3 wheeler. Lucky man !

I’m looking forward to getting to the UK in Feb (hopefully) for work where I’d like to get to Morgan & Lotus for tours.
Ironically, I had to pay “luxury” car tax when it came into the country 😶 I asked if they can point out the luxury I’ll pay the tax!

 

[TomE]

My S1 Exige is the rawest I've owned, minimal creature comforts though not as hard core as those of you with Caterhams, Atoms and X-Bows. I love that it's just about the driving. At any speed it feels special and so closely connected to the road.

I've enjoyed driving Caterhams on track on various experience and driver training days but never owned one. I also had a few sessions in a Palmersport Jaguar Formula 3000 - a slicks and wings single seater that is probably the most raw car I've driven.

Sitting in the passenger seat of a Lotus 2-11 being driven at 10/10ths on track by Lotus development driver Gav Kershaw is my most raw experience. If you ever get the chance to be driven by one of the Lotus R&H team do look carefully and see how they manage to bend the laws of physics. I recommend doing up your harness straps REALLY tight

In a completely different context, driving my dad's 1935 Bentley with gearchange on the wrong side, no syncromesh, drum brakes and cross-ply tyres around Silverstone was raw in terms of driving. But rather surreal to do that while sitting in an armchair!

 

[Dommo]

Here are my two most recent raw cars.

The GT4 was by far the most raw of the two. The GTR was the best of both worlds.

 

[DJW]

Beast of a car with 6.2L V8 with 550bhp. Amazing presence on the road, but for me felt like a sledgehammer vs Lotus cars being a scalpel, so was moved on

Tried to build one before but gave up . Worked out an expensive air fix kit

 

[DJW]

Here are my two most recent raw cars.

The GT4 was by far the most raw of the two. The GTR was the best of both worlds.
View attachment 1387View attachment 1386

Loving the GTR in that colour. Had the base GT roadster which was fun, but nowhere near the presence of the GTR….epic.

 

[Lankan]

Loving the old Pork. Mad prices for these now

Thanks, yes, I was a Porsche enthusiast, before going Italian, French, and finally, Lotus, though still have some leftovers from that journey.

Must admit though that the Rubystone Red 964RS was in superb order. The 993RS was less so.

What is the last roofless car in your list above - first thought it was a KTM X-Bow, but clearly not. Looks like a real riot to drive...

 

[Tommyboy1986]

c63s daily ! Stunning car loved every second of it and is sorely missed !

 

[Emira]

For those that know Lotus, get ready for some Sport 160 content!

I had another S1 Elise (Norfolk Mustard) before the S160.

Time to get back into a Lotus.

 

[Dommo]

Loving the GTR in that colour. Had the base GT roadster which was fun, but nowhere near the presence of the GTR….epic.

Cheers! The GTR was incredible (I sold it last month). The colour is certainly bold but I found that even cyclists smiled at it whereas the GT4 just got the typical disapproving shake of the head 😂

 

[Pegasi]

Looks like I am gonna bring this thread down based on what's been posted so far. Ran this 2007 Si for 13 years literally at the 8000 Redline. It was a blast. Engine, suspension, transmission was superb. Everything else was horribly raw. CD stuck in player, back floor board filled with water after rain making it stink, dome lights when out, front speaker blew, door would not stay open on the slightest hill, paint oxidized, I could go on and on but 8000 was the number.

 

[DJW]

Thanks, yes, I was a Porsche enthusiast, before going Italian, French, and finally, Lotus, though still have some leftovers from that journey.

Must admit though that the Rubystone Red 964RS was in superb order. The 993RS was less so.

What is the last roofless car in your list above - first thought it was a KTM X-Bow, but clearly not. Looks like a real riot to drive...

Nope you were correct, a KTM XBOW. An ugly car but beautiful from engineering perspective.

Re the porkers only lucky enough to have owned a Carrera 3.2 from aircooled era. Heard from many 964RS owners who regret selling cars, especially when usually at low price point vs prices today.

 

[DJW]

Always wanted to own one, so when this Plus 4 sport came up I had to buy it. Love the look of cars and this one had a 2 litre duratec engine so went well

Car came with £5k suspension upgrade , but unfortunately with limited rear suspension travel it had a tendency to try and throw you out of the seat on any sudden depressions when travelling at speed . So another car moved on.

Funnily enough my 50 year old Elan Plus 2 soaks up the same roads no problem. Good old Chapman

 

[Dommo]

Looks like I am gonna bring this thread down based on what's been posted so far. Ran this 2007 Si for 13 years literally at the 8000 Redline. It was a blast. Engine, suspension, transmission was superb. Everything else was horribly raw. CD stuck in player, back floor board filled with water after rain making it stink, dome lights when out, front speaker blew, door would not stay open on the slightest hill, paint oxidized, I could go on and on but 8000 was the number.

View attachment 1400

Ah, the good old high revving VTEC engine. I had an Integra Type R. Only a 188 BHP and raw as hell but what a great engine. Fair play to you for making the most of yours, the VTEC engines can take some serious abuse!

 

[SilvesterZ]

 

[CanadianEmira]

Always wanted to own one, so when this Plus 4 sport came up I had to buy it. Love the look of cars and this one had a 2 litre duratec engine so went well

Car came with £5k suspension upgrade , but unfortunately with limited rear suspension travel it had a tendency to try and throw you out of the seat on any sudden depressions when travelling at speed . So another car moved on.

Funnily enough my 50 year old Elan Plus 2 soaks up the same roads no problem. Good old Chapman

View attachment 1402

Man, I am jealous of your collection!

 

[DJW]

To be honest, most cars are only kept 4 months or so. Just want to experience ownership and if bought sensibly they are usually sold for same when moved on. Nothing like free motoring

This is latest one that has just been sold and probably rawest of the lot. Definite need for earplugs and at first until GEO was sorted it was trying to chuck me in the hedge at the earliest opportunity

Radical SR3, with the this being a rare road registered car. Had a Suzuki Hyabusa engine tweaked by Radical to 260bhp. Pretty mental in a car around 500kg, but the more impressive feature is the downforce. They’re actually being banned from quite a few track days now as so much faster than other road cars.

Road presence was beyond anything else I’ve owned , but always had positive if not startled reactions from Joe Public.

If I had the garage space I would keep it. Such a cool car.

 

[freefall_junkie]

You win hands down with the Radical What a machine - there can't be a more mental road legal car than that!