I Need A Rear-Drive, Track-Capable Weekend Car! What Should I Buy?

Rob had a BMW 135 as a weekend fun car, but it was recently totaled. He is looking for another rear-drive replacement that he can take to some track days, but it does need to be somewhat practical. With a budget of up to $30,000, what car should he buy?

Andy Got a Brand-New Porsche 911 (Made of Legos)

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Here is the scenario.

My 2012 BMW 135 was just totaled and I need a replacement. This is my fun car that I drive when the weather is good, about 5,000 miles out of the year. I have an A4 Avant for my daily driver for long trips and poor weather, wife has a GTI so the fun FWD car is covered. The 135i had engine and suspension upgrades to make it fun on the road as well as the occasional track car. So the replacement needs to be track capable but also not terrible for driving around town.

Overall I want sub 5 second 0-60, manual transmission, capable of fitting a car seat in the back, likely a coupe or small sedan, good handling and trackable. Budget up to$30k

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $30,000

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Daily Driver: No

Wants: Rear Drive, Quick, Back Seat

Doesn’t want: An Automatic

Expert 1: Tom McParland- Change It Up

Image: Driscoll Motors.com

Rob, I see by your stable you tend to prefer German hardware so perhaps this is an opportunity to branch out and try something different. Your desire for a sub-5 second 0-60 time and the need for a back seat, eliminates most of the obvious choices. So instead of thinking small with turbos, what if you went bigger with a V8?

This is a 2004 Pontiac GTO, despite the disappointing use of the historic GTO badge, this imported Australian coupe was a solid driver. Under the hood is the ubiquitous and reliable 5.7-liter GM V8 that made 350 horsepower, but adding more ponies to this mill doesn’t take much. While the styling was somewhat sedate for its time, the GTO has aged better than other muscle coupes from the early 2000s. Inside is a bit of a letdown, but it is simple and functional as a track toy or weekend cruiser. It also has plenty of space in the rear. These were successful platforms for the Australian Supercar series (kind of like our NASCAR) and at under $22,000, which leaves plenty of room in the budget for track prep.

Expert 2: Collin Woodard – Let Those Horses Run

Photo: ENE Motors

I’m sorry to hear about your 135i, Rob. Having a car totaled always sucks, but it hurts even more when it’s something you really love. Unfortunately, with your budget, your options are probably going to be pretty limited if you aren’t willing to compromise on speed, price, rear-wheel drive or that manual transmission. For example, I’d love to put you in a Porsche 911, but the only ones I could find within several hundred miles of you were Carrera 4s.

That said, Tom’s probably right about going American, and the GTO is an outstanding sleeper. If that’s not quick enough for you, though, I say go for the obvious answer and just buy a Ford Mustang GT. It shouldn’t be hard to find a used manual for less than $30,000, and they’ll basically all hit 60 mph in less than five seconds, so regardless of which one you buy, you won’t have to feel like you gave up performance in the name of practicality. There’s even a back seat for the baby.

For example, here’s a 2015 Ford Mustang GT in Racine for just under $27,000. You might need to do a little track prep to get it ready for race day, but Car And Driver clocked a similar one hitting 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, so at least you’re good to go on the power front. Is it a little obvious? Sure. But that’s not the end of the world, is it?

Expert 3: Amber DaSilva – Get Those Wrenches Turning

Rob, there’s a single detail in your ask that makes things so much more interesting: Your 135i wasn’t stock. You built up the engine and suspension, turned it into the car you wanted rather than settling for the way it came off the factory line. If you can do that one more time, then the Subaru BRZ will be the perfect car for you.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: The BRZ is famously slow, particularly in its first generation — the only generation that actually fits within your budget. This is true, and I don’t disagree. But the Toyobaru twins have a fantastic aftermarket, which means you can fix that dearth of power yourself.

Let’s start with this BRZ tS out near you, with its Sachs dampers and Brembo brakes. That dealer is asking $24,367, leaving $5,633 in your budget for mods. Conveniently, a 50-state emissions-compliant turbo kit slots in right under that number, with Works charging just $5,200 for a claimed 90-horsepower upgrade. If that doesn’t hit 60 in under 5 seconds, I’ll eat a hat.

The BRZ has rear seats for the kids, rear drive for you, and space in that engine bay to hit whatever 0-60 time you’d like — all within your budget. Just need to get your knuckles a little dirty in the process.

Expert 4: Lawrence Hodge – Cheap And Capable

Image: Hyundai

I don’t know about you Rob, but when I search for performance cars like this, I like to try and find things that are unexpected. And with the requirements of rear-wheel drive, a manual and a backseat, the first thing that popped into my head was the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

On sale from ’10-’16, these were underrated when they were on the market. You had a chose of either a light and quick turbocharged 2.0 I4 or the one you really want, the 3.8 V6. Since these have gone out of production, they’ve become the darlings of tuners across the country and for good reason: they take to mods well and they’re dirt cheap now.

You don’t want one with someone else’s shitty mods on it though. So I managed to find one that’s bone stock. This 2010 is a 3.8 Grand Touring trim. So in addition to that 306 hp V6, you get a six-speed manual transmission, and a few luxury features like heated leather seats. The most important part is that this thing only has just under 49,000 miles on it and the dealer is asking just $12,988 for it. A killer deal for an underrated sports coupe.