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PART I
Im sure that many of you dream of the ownership of various cars from classics to modern-day, gut wrenching supercars. Like any car nut I have a dream that Im yet to achieve. Ever since I fired up the glorious V10 of the Porsche Carerra GT early this year I have been love struck. I was addicted to the scream of the engine, the knife-edge handling and the curvaceous but subtle (for a supercar) exterior. I doubt I will ever experience the amazing but wallet-hungry ownership of a supercar, but I would like to see how close you could get to its devastatingly quick lap times in a relatively ordinary car. As an avid Nurburgringer I just had to attempt the impossible. I am determined to attack the ring in whatever I can buy for £50,000 pounds, and set my target for the lap set by Walter Rohrl in a Carrera GT of 7 minutes 32.44 seconds. I know. Its a crazy idea, but if I succeed
Car choice is critical. I have many options, from choosing a shiny new car to buying a twenty-year-old brute. I know I will need sufficient horsepower to hit 170mph or more on the straight and a car that sticks to the road like nothing else. The MkI Porsche GT3 that I have just sold to cover the expenses of this daring, maybe stupid project, could cover the 12 mile course in just under 8 minutes, but for the same price, I need the lap done in a staggering 7 and a half minutes. For weeks I have been trawling through Auto traders, trudging through showroom after showroom and test-driving whatever I can think of. I could buy a TVR, maybe a T350C or Tuscan MkII, but then I would have precious little money spare to buy the components needed to hone the car for ring work. A test drive made me remember something I used to think about the earlier cars too. Even though it now has Bilstein suspension, I still think TVR put a car on sale, and then see how it handles. The first Tuscan released was utterly terrifying. I also considered a second hand BMW M3 for just £25,000 pounds, but I dont think the car has the straight line pace to compete with the likes of the GT. The British-Built noble also crossed my mind, but again it would leave me with little money spare. Eventually I decided that I needed some help on my final decision, as I dont want the money to be wasted.
I phoned up a friend, Eddie, who works in the Nurburgring based Porsche tuning firm Manthey Racing, and asked for some advice. Of course, he said a Porsche would be a great choice, and why didnt I just use the GT3. When I told him that it had been sold there was a deathly moment of silence. I was waiting for the phone to go dead, when he treated me to a surprise. Good, he said. For that price I admit that no Porsche would lap the ring fast enough. What you need, he added, is something relatively cheap that could have lots of money put into turning it into a track beast. He went through a list of cars with me. Subaru Impreza Spec C? He questioned. I thought about it. It is a very quick car, but doesnt have the pedigree of what I am looking for. Skyline GT-R, he said. Now thats an idea. I have driven a few Nissan Skylines, some race prepped, and they blew me away with the ferocity of the power and the 4wd wizardry that seemed to take handling to a new level. Ok. I replied, Lets go for it. Eddie and I met up in London for a chat later that month, and came up with the conclusion that a R32 or R33 skyline would be most appropriate, as good examples can be found at a relatively good price. I tried out 3 cars from a skyline-tuning specialist near London, and finally came up with a conclusion.
Seventeen thousand pounds had secured me a rare crystal white Skyline R32 GTR N1 with just over 40,000 miles on the clock. I haggled on the price and we came up with an agreement that for the same price they would rebuild the engine to almost new condition. The suspension and the exhaust both do need replacing, but I knew these were going anyway and would be replaced by bespoke racing items soon, so I decided to keep them for now. The seat cushion felt like it was stuffed with marshmallow too, and I think the previous owner was a fan of Big Macs. I am already looking into having racing buckets fitted.
The drive home was revealing. The 2.6 litre turbo engine pulled hard and the handling giving me more confidence in it every second. At the moment, the handling has a habit understeering, but with the suspension being replaced, theres little to worry about. I took a familiar route home, and took the corners faster than I could believe possible. The engine note is a character in itself, starting of with a low grumble and erupting in to a wail, albeit a little subdued, accompanied by the noise of the twin-turbos inhaling greedy gulps of air. I arrived home in record time and got out, and stood back to admire the ledged. I was buzzing, and the faint ticks emanated from the engine as it cooled. Im already in tune with it and I know that we will get on, on the road and the track. Im not going to mess about though; its no Carrera GT. It doesnt make my heart race every time I sit in the drivers seat, and it doesnt have as much character. But its only a sixth of the price, and with modifications maybe we can recapture some of the magic. With so much planned for the car in the coming weeks, excitement levels through the roof. Stay tuned.
Please spend the time to read this if you have it. I hope it is a good read.
N.B. This is all fiction, and the car is only on GT4. I am not that rich!
I don't like to be a 1 line post-whore just throwing in a "nice job" or a 👍 here and there. 
