Is this £30k the best way to access 600bhp?

[buzyg]

I had a go in a standard M6 when they came out and it was chirping with every gear change on a slightly damp road...

Weapons.

The Z4M for me is a great compromise it isn't out of control power and I feel comfortable with it but has plenty to enjoy. 600hp is a bit intimidating I think!

I'll never forget a 700bhp corvette pulling out to over take me on a dead straight road. It was like watching a bull on an ice rink. Scary from ware I was and talking to the driver over lunch even more scary from where he was sitting.

200-300 bhp really is all you need in a sports car. Every car I owned before my MR I could drive the wheels off. I can't do that in the MR, it would kill me or others. The thought of more than double the power and torque on the public highway doesn't appeal any more. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

[MrPT]

I'll never forget a 700bhp corvette pulling out to over take me on a dead straight road. It was like watching a bull on an ice rink. Scary from ware I was and talking to the driver over lunch even more scary from where he was sitting.

Reminds me of when we were overtaken by a pre-production P1 on the way down to Goodwood FoS, except it was like watching a bull in full lycra speed suit riding a Pendolino.

That jag does look like a lot of (reliable) fun for £30k. No way near the same price, but I quite like the idea of a supercharged R8 V8, as featured on PH recently. Good for around 750bhp.

[LeeZ4MR]

All very good and valid points. The noise and driver involvement is a big part for me... and just how the car makes you feel. I guess you don't need 600bhp for that at all but somehow it's just so tempting

I do like the M6 but it is a big/heavy car with excellent sound deadening. Whereas I'd prefer the F-Type Roadster(still a heavy car in fairness though) because roof down would also add to the feeling of speed I reckon. The noise will be great!

Money no object I'd also really like a car with 600bhp!

[buzyg]

I'll never forget a 700bhp corvette pulling out to over take me on a dead straight road. It was like watching a bull on an ice rink. Scary from ware I was and talking to the driver over lunch even more scary from where he was sitting.

Reminds me of when we were overtaken by a pre-production P1 on the way down to Goodwood FoS, except it was like watching a bull in full lycra speed suit riding a Pendolino.

That jag does look like a lot of (reliable) fun for £30k. No way near the same price, but I quite like the idea of a supercharged R8 V8, as featured on PH recently. Good for around 750bhp.

Lovely metalic brown R8 lives on the drive just down the road. Young chap runs it as his daily. Works in the dockyard too. I probably see it more often than I see my own Zed.

[Babw]

A boring question... when do you use all that power?

400bhp is surely enough in those cars, so another 50% on top of that just sounds crazy. Is it appropriate on public roads? Unless you're going to use it on a track, which none of them are particularly great for.

Honestly, in my comparatively weedy 260bhp E86 I find it difficult enough enjoying all those horses without worrying about losing my licence in anything above 2nd gear. Perhaps I just don't have the right roads around where I live?

Not being able to enjoy it's full potential often enough is the main reason I haven't been tempted into a Z4MC. Yet...

Good question but having a bonkers amount of power changes the driving dynamics and definitely makes it entertaining. I think torque is the thing that makes things the most entertaining, high RPM horsepower is good if you're able to wind it out which I assume would normally be on track but lots of torque and power just makes for a rollercoaster.

I used to be in the same camp as you before I got an "overpowered" car.

[Jaw]

you never truly use >500bhp on the road.. Less than that even..

BUT there's a childish enjoyment that you get when crawling on to a dual carriage way and planting it that you forget how you lived without! Everything gets dialled up, as someone mentioned above, the whole dynamic of the car changes.

It won't kill you for spilling its pint, you just have to use MUCH more concentration and restraint and really get to know the car more. The car does everything more easily and when you do have a chance to get that step out and access the top shelf, the effect is magnified. Don't get me wrong, My GTR is a far safer place for big power than supercharging my M3 would be - and the roads here aren't icy and usually not as wet as in the UK, but once you get to grips with a bigger hp car and enjoy it in the same places you would a lower hp one, the rewards are awesome.

It's all rather addictive.

[Hilly30si]

A boring question... when do you use all that power?

400bhp is surely enough in those cars, so another 50% on top of that just sounds crazy. Is it appropriate on public roads? Unless you're going to use it on a track, which none of them are particularly great for.

Honestly, in my comparatively weedy 260bhp E86 I find it difficult enough enjoying all those horses without worrying about losing my licence in anything above 2nd gear. Perhaps I just don't have the right roads around where I live?

Not being able to enjoy it's full potential often enough is the main reason I haven't been tempted into a Z4MC. Yet...

It’s the exact reason I went old school with the TR6 it sounds amazing with that straight six, handles pretty good for a 70s sports car, turns plenty of heads and it’s a hoot to drive.

[Vonlipvig]

Every car I owned before my MR I could drive the wheels off. I can't do that in the MR, it would kill me or others.

You do a pretty good job of driving the wheels off it if I remember