Jeezo! No wonder it took you 8 years. Well done, sir!
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That started off as the much sought after Alpine SuperLeggra. 
Then it put on considerable weight…
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Indeed it did, the MOT man thought it was a bit too lightweight. 
If you look at the top right photo you can see the only bit of welding that had been done to it and the tax disc was 1979
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At one point last year I owned 2 MX5 (VR ltd and an R ltd), a BMW Z3 and the wild car, a TVR Chimera. All Japanese imports, even the Z3 and the TVR.
Sadly the TVR had to go, it was an amazing beast, but as reliable as you might imagine.
I still plan to have another toy car as well as the MX5s (Z3 is for sale if anybody is interested - it’s a luxury motorway hooner). On the list…
- e-type, though costs are bonkers
- new morgan plus 6
- Nissan 370
- Audi TT Quattro
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And if money was no object, how about one of these?
It is a works Jaguar Dtype which competed in the 1953 Le Mans 24hr race if my memory serves me correctly. This was a few years ago and it was worth £15. Million. The owner drove it to the track at Curborough, drove it around a few laps and then drove home in it. He even let me have a sit in it and to be honest it was a lot more comfy than I imagined.
It is a works Jaguar Dtype which competed in the 1953 Le Mans 24hr race if my memory serves me correctly. This was a few years ago and it was worth £15. Million. The owner drove it to the track at Curborough, drove it around a few laps and then drove home in it. He even let me have a sit in it and to be honest it was a lot more comfy than I imagined.
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I do like the series 1 Etype roadster though. I project managed the restoration of this one for my old boss and got to drive it too!
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Have you seen the track day videos of the Skoda Yeti TT-RS? someone has taken a 4x4 diesel Yeti and transplanted the running gear from a TT-RS and tuned it to 720bhp. Annihilates plenty of impressive stuff on track including upsetting the owner of an Ariel Atom.
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So many wonderful cars out there. The old stuff is great for high days and holidays but is still old and the poor ventilation, lack of adjustment in driving positions and harsh suspension woulld ause me to fall out of love quite quickly. (Except an E type, I would cripple myself and still love an E type.)
Something reasonably modern but not too extreme. Also different enough from the MX5 to make it a genuine choice depending on my mood.
First choice would be one of the newer generation Astons. A Vanquish if money was no object, but a nice DB9 or Vantage would do just fine. I have driven both quite extensively as a track day instructor and whilst I love the V8 Vantage, there is something special about the V12 in a DB9, it is a sublime mix of relaxed cruiser and screaming monster when you get past 4500 rpm.
It would be followed very closely by an F type R. (Or even an SVR). They are quite mental if pushed hard and make you sweat.
I find the silly amount of noise F Types make a bit , umm , juvenile? It sounds like a grown up version of a Barry’s remapped Nova. I adore the sound of racing engines , from formulae cars , to big block dragsters, but they have a place and I do find some of the current crop of AMGs etc which go bang bang pop CRACK on the overrun a bit 'look at me , yes me , here, look ! ’
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I know what you mean. I had an SLK200 on loan whilst mine was in for service and it popped and blipped on down changes. It had no performance and we christened it Botox as it could not move.
But when backed up by a supercharged V8 I don’t mind people looking. I may grow up one day but it’s unlikely now 
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Being a fully fledged adult is grossly overrated frankly.
Boring…
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Boxster S
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At 67 years young I am still trying to avoid it!
Interesting, I drove my MX5 as a way of passing time between test drives of a Boxter S and a Lotus Elise, then went back and bought the MX5 in preference as it made me smile more.
It was not that the Boxter S was not a good car. It really was, just not within the legal limits.
It had so much grip and performance that 60 on the country roads is too slow for it and the last four gears were pointless.
Nice car though.
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That D-Type is an Ecurie Ecosse car (private team) it came in 2nd at 1957 Le Mans. A special car no doubt though!
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That’s a really interesting overview thank you. I’ve heard the MX5s are a much more connected drive.
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…I think that’s the “problem” with cars like the Boxter etc. (particularly in the UK), they are designed to have fun but at higher speeds than you can legally do! We have the 1.5 for the same reason, it can be fun at 50!..(when most bigger engined sports cars are still in first gear!)…
…used to be the same when we had our first 2 seater, a 1275 MG Midget. At 40 you felt like you were doing 70!
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Plus I had a Boxster and as you’ll know you can’t really get to the engine which if you take satisfaction from some diy is a bit boring
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Had a 944 myself that developed a very minor water leak. Just the odd drip from underneath. Dealer suspected it was the water pump. Cost of labour just to get at the water pump, not including changing it, over £500. That was around 30 years ago. That’s around £1,150 in today’s money.
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Radweld.
