Thank You All

[Removed user as requested]

Hello,

Just wish to thank everybody here thats tried to help me work out what I can do with my charger.

Ive decided that im not keeping it. Im going to sell the car and get a Ferrari F355 Berlinetta.

Reason I say that is because I was privaleged to sit inside one and go for a ride.

1: Its a lot more quiet when you cruise than the dodge (im sick of the loud noise when your just wanting a peacefull cruise)

2: It handles by far better

3: It feels race like sitting inside it, unlike the dodge (due to the nature of the cars design, very low, etc)

4: with 375 BHP and 285 ft/lbs of torque the car goes harder than a Charger with a 426 Hemi at 420hp and 490 ft/lbs of torque. Probbably because its a much 'lighter' car.

5: Its a very light car which I also love about it (trying to work out how to make dodge 3000lbs is impossible if u want to keep original body) ferrari = 2900lbs as is.

6: Will be much better for business.

7: I can get Right Hand drive F355 (I personaly prefer RHD cars for where I live in Australia)

8: It sounds absolutelly stunning up past 5000rpm. I mean that thing growls SOOOOOO Nice its amazing. So its quiet when it needs to be (cruising) and sounds race like when it needs to be (foot to the floor)

8: Its just a better car overall.


Even if I was to make a charger ride on rails, it wouldnt feel race like sitting inside it like the ferrari... its just not designed that way.

This way I get a car that needs no modification, goes hard, corners hard, nice and quiet, sounds awesome when neccessary and retains its value as is rather than blowing 100 000 on a muscle car that if i dont like, il lose 100 000 on it.

So thanks everyone for all the help/advice etc... this way I dont have to stuff around with the whole "Big vs small block" issue in terms of handling, I dont have to worry about 15 or 17 or 18" brakes on the charger etc etc.

Just buy the 355and it does eveyrthing it needs to designed the way it is. No need to think about what to do... just buy and drive.

Will take 6 months before I get it... but hell, I cant wait to take this to the track!

Ultimatelly I believe looks wise I like the Diablos best, but in ferraris the 355 is my most fav looking one, Funny thing is both the diablo and f355 are 1996-99 model cars. After that they lost their look.

I could also mill the ferrari engine a little etc to get the horsepower up to 500. A car that light with 500hp would be scary fast... so its just awesom. As much as I loved the charger I have simply noticed compare to that, that they are 'old' cars and can not compare to Exotics, technology wise etc.

So thanks everyone, if it wasnt for everything been said etc I probbably never woulda known what to do.

[Randy67]

I don't fault you one bit. Heck a lot of us would get a Ferrari if we could, but since we can't, we work with what we have. Enjoy the F355, nice choice BTW.

[dontlifttoshift]

Another one lost to the instant gratification of buying a latemodel car that kicksass right out of the box. I get it, I got my eye on a new Boss 302 (Laguna Seca edition), its delivered on R compound tires and no back seat. I don't have to do a damn thing but put gas in it and drive it........but it will never have soul like an old car does, not ever......and I would NEVER trade my hot rod for it. Hell i wouldn't trade my stone stock 62 Buick for it.

[Matt@BOS]

Who would have ever thought that a Ferrari would be a practical/logical decision?

Have fun with the car! I've always been a fan of the F355 as well.

Just remember, save some of the Chargers budget for maintaining the Ferrari...

Matt

[Removed user as requested]

lol

Thanks guys.

I wont be buying it right now... as I dont have 90 000 to buy one. However, within next 6-12 months I will get it. I thought about the 308... but decided, as much as I want a ferrari 'now' im better of waiting a little longer and getting a good one.

Yes maintenence, only if you dont drive the car do they cost alot, and thats the problem with most ferrari owners. They either trailor it or leave it sitting in the garage for months.

These cars = very reliable if you drive them weekly which I will be.

$1000 dollars on maintenence every 10 000km, and $3000 at the 60 000km mark. So thats $8000 every 60 000km.

WHich to me is pretty good. thats like every 2-3 years.

I understand the whole love to work on your car thng, but I am not a mechanic, so I rely a lot of my fix this fix that on other people, and those other people either rip you off, steal your money and dont even do the work, or tell you one price, do the job and charge you double, or they say they did this an that but really havent done it.

I found in my experience if u cant do the car yourself, dont trust anyone else with these old cars cause there all a bunch of #*$*(&#$.

So for me its just not good. I want a nice car to drive that I can have fun with without having to constantly worry about this and that and this ad that and on and on and on it goes. I love cars, I dont love working on them. I love to own good muscle car, I dont want to fiddle with it though if that makes sense. I have the love of owning a beautiful car but not the "But i gotta do this and that" side to it. Love the car not the work it needs.

Did I mention it was quite nice to have a 'smaller' car with a 98" wheel base rather then 117!

Al the cars ive owned were huge, 70 dodge Challenger, 2 68 Dodge Chargers, 1 87 Pontiac Transam (thats a long car)... so the ferrari was quite comfortable, can see everythig out of it, can actualy see the end of it through the rear window, not 2 meters wide even though according to its profile it looks very wide.

I dont ike any other ferraris, its either the F355 or the testarossa in the ferrari range for me, anything newer looks toomuch like everything else on the road. Thats why I dont like Gallardo lambos tc either, The countache/Diablo yes, nothing newer. However I dont got 200 000 to get one either so a Berlinetta will do the job great :D

I understand the whole "if we could get one we would so since we cant we work with what we got"

Once my charger is sold, all i have to do is add $40 000 to it and I got a ferrari (with about a $15 000 profit made on the charger).

To me to make the charger anything like that ferrari would cost me alot more than $40 000. 1 Hemi = 40 000 (theres my ferrari). 1 6 speed box = 12 000. Redo the chasis suspension stuff = 20 000. New wheels and tires etc 5000.

So for 40 000 I got a ferrari rather than a dodge still not doing what it should be for 40k. So to me its cheaper to get the F355 than work with what I got and stll have the volume issue, the doesnt feel race like issue inside, still Left hand drive issue etc.

I keep forgetting to ask... this being a Pro-Touring forum, that means only muscle cars made to handle or anything that can race from muscle through to exotics? - *scratches head* - If im welcome to hang around and stuff with my new car, pics etc, cool. Otherwise, I guess i mayswell unsubscribe :/

[Vicinity]

You really gotta post some pics when you buy it, I love 355s. When the time comes, I'll get one. :)

[Ron.in.SoCal]

First of all, stick around no matter what. I really mean that. Oh, and post some pics...

Second, get whatever floats your boat. But be prepared to spend $$$$$ keeping that thing on the road. Nice car, but the 355s require maintenance if you plan on driving them. Get on the ferarri boards if you don't believe me. Even though you don't prefer newer gens, the 360 was one of the first road cars that didn't kill you every 3000 miles (if you changed out the titanium valve guides). And on that note - I'm a little fiesty tonight so excuse me - if you really want to put some miles on a short wheelbase, corner carving driver's car, get a Porsche.

[Rod]

I second the porsche idea, a sweet GT3, ohh yeaa

[MrQuick]

yeah you'll be wishing for that GT3 once you get the maintenence bill of the Italian. But the GT3 is also $130K ish to start.

If it was me I'd be happy with a 2002 SS M6 and a M3 for a pocket rocket.

[Removed user as requested]

Thanks for the 'stay on board' comment guys.

I wouldnt buy a posche. It looks like an Extended V-dub beatle. Its a very, very borring car. It seems a lot of porsche owners are just as borring lol.

For me its either the Countache or the F355. Funds wise, its the F355, future... Diablo. Dont like the new stuff, they all look weird. Even the 360 ppl have suggested to me looks stuffed.

[David Sloan]

Just Keep the charger on the back burner, you might change your mind latter! Then you want have to go buy another one. LOL!

[tazzz25906112]

Hey it's all about preferences and what floats your boat..... The comments about 355 maintenance should not be taken lightly (ask me how I know LOL), that said the car is sweet and a blast to drive BTW.

A word of caution, if you use your 355 like we drive our Pro-touring cars get ready for at least triple the normal average Ferrari maintenance costs.... I sold my horse/s and passed on the Bulls (transmissions issues there) because of the old saying at the time, "it's not a race car you know",,,, that comment just kept resonating in my ears when spoken by the local dealership service manager..... Here I was standing in the service reception and shaking my head thinking I bought a car that looks like a race car,,, handles like a race car,, sometimes feels like a race car and costs like a race car (maintenance bills) but is not meant to be driven hard,,, whats wrong with this picture?????

I guess the point to be had here is,,, they are very cool ,,, but they make absolutely no sense at the core.... They definitely are cool to look at,, not drive for the most part,,,, and if you do drive them get ready to blow "big money cubically" down the drain (maintenance and deprecation big time if you but miles on it)... It's all how you plan to drive the car,,, if once and a while and to pose, "great".... If you plan to drive it hard and have fun putting a fair amount of miles on it,,,, I suggest you stop at every local drugstore you pass and buy another quart of petroleum jelly because you're going to want to ease the pain coming your way either in maintenance or depreciation.... One or the other will be realized you can be absolutely sure of that!!!!!!

Now that I've sort of be an ass, I apologize because I know the feeling of excitement when I had the dream of owning one for the first time,, I didn't want to hear such things..... After the ownership experience I wish someone would have burst my bubble... The best advice I can give you (if your interested) is,,, (if available) rent the dam thing.... "They are a blast to drive",,, but not to own!!!

BTW G-man,,, please stay around and keep in touch with the community as Matt stated below,,,, I hope you don't hate me for being honest about ownership above because I really also do remember that excitement I felt going in....

[Matt@BOS]

First of all, stick around no matter what. I really mean that. Oh, and post some pics...

I'm a little fiesty tonight so excuse me - if you really want to put some miles on a short wheelbase, corner carving driver's car, get a Porsche.

I completely agree Ron! :) Although I think if you're going to go big, (or small) An Exige or an evora with a supercharger would be an awesome little car.

Albert, that is a great story of ownership experience.

Last time I was out in Vegas my dad decided he wanted to drive an exotic car to see what the experience would be like. We both went out to the little company that operates out at the Las Vegas Speedway. For a very overpriced sum they let you take 5-10 or more laps with an instructor. The whole thing was a bit of an idiot's crash course in basic driving skills. Despite the fact that they don't let you reach the car's potential, I was completely blown away by how...boring it was to drive both the new 458 and the LP 560 Superleggera, I'm sure they're faster cars, but I was expecting something way more fun and capable than my Camaro, and I didn't get that feeling at all. At the end of the day the experience probably saved me a ton of money down the road as I have no real interest in ever buying one.

G-Man, when you trade the Ferrari in for in for a Porsche or Lotus you'll still be welcome here :lmao:
On a serious note though, if you have to have the car, you have to have the car. Enjoy it and stick around on pro-touring.

Matt

[dlrepmn]

My uncle has a red convertible F355 (96 or 97 I think) that just sits. I have seen it move twice. He has the itch for an R8.

He has a Lotus Elise that he tracks/drives so I don't know if this car has ever seen one.

I would so love to have this car. He says it sticks out like a sore thumb and creates way too much attention. It's well maintained they pick it up (trailer) and drop it off when it is done.

Scott

[cobragt]

Any exotic car is going to be costly to maintain. This is the reason all the used ones have low miles.

[Removed user as requested]

Just a curious question....

If I turned my charger into a real pro-touring car with custom bits to make it ferrari like, with a 600hp engine etc etc, and then took it to bathurst raceway where I plan to stick this ferrari... how is that car gonna be more reliable/less worry?

I mean one poster said the ferrari if raced expect HUGE $$$ to fix basically... why on earth would the ferrari break and be totaly unreliable yet a 40 year old car with modified components running also a powerfull engine, not break and be headache free, low maintenence and seems to sound like you can race them every week, drive them for 100 000 miles before having to worry about anything while the ferrari, drive few times expect things to break, take it to race track, expect a total rebuild once, forget weekly racing it, once and it sounds like its finished.

How on earth does that work? Ferrari sold cars worth over 100 000 because they are the worst quality cars built on the planet? Something dont add up here.

[SLO_Z28]

Ferraris break, period. 2 of the guys I went to college with in the GM ASEP program were Ferrari techs. Its unbelievable how much these cars break, and how poorly they perform mechanically. One was going out to a major celebrity's house almost every week fixing his POS 02 Modena. It was $1000 just to get him to your doorstep too.

[NJSPEEDER]

Ferrari's maintenance issues are a little misleading. It looks bad on paper to require so much to keep up with things and the failures sure don't make for great press releases but everyone needs to understand that is the price you pay for owning a car that is built to the limits.

Look at how hard they twist those motors and all the complicated little bits and pieces that make that dual clutch paddle shifted trans work. And realistically, Ferrari's, like other high end sports cars change hands a lot and get a fresh beating with every new owner because that is what they were built for and so many people who buy them trade up to the newest fast toy whenever they can.

Ferrari's are great cars and if the maintenance is kept up with to the letter they can be very reliable cars as long as you remember, it is still a car and it can still break, if you continuously flog the crap out of it you are increasing the odds of failure.

-Tim

[tazzz25906112]

G-man all things mechanical break weather it's a pro-touring car or Ferrari.... If you drive a car hard it breaks. That said I as an individual thought an exotic like a Ferrari would take a lot more given the design of the car (they look like a sports car doing 100 sitting still),,, most think of them as high performance vehicles...

You will have to do repair work with both,,, the difference being the cost and the "managed expectation" of the cost... Ferrari's are promoted as super cars,,, pro-touring cars are ones own idea of a American Super car when built at a high level... This considered you would think the engineers at Ferrari could do a lot better with their street cars because they break like crazy when driven hard period.... The comment made stands,,, if you want to drive hard make sure you have a "Deep" pocket... Both cars will bring joy,,, just a what price.

If you want to run a Ferrari hard,,, look at one of their challenge cars because at least it's purpose built.. The street cars are not built for aggressive road course play. If you think I'm exaggerating just walk into your local Ferrari dealership service department and ask them the average annual service budget for a 355 with X miles and X service done to date,,,, then after he tells you that number ask him how much to prepare the car for a track day??? Then ask him about annual maintenance budget if your regularly track the car like we do with a pro-touring American car???? After getting over the shell shock walk into the show room and ask your sales rep about the cars value if you track it regularly and place miles on it driving daily as stated earlier in the thread..... I'm pretty dam sure you will come to realize that they are very cool cars,,, but very expensive to play with if you're going to compare apples to apples.

You commented about placing pic's up and sharing experiences, of course your welcome and encouraged to stay involved... Pro-touring is more than the sum of its parts as a car,,,, it's about getting out and using the cars and sharing the experience.... As far as my comments go,, they are to make sure you have fully inform yourself and not make poorly informed decisions... The dealership has an active interest in seeing you involved,,, see what they say and keep in mind they want you as a customer so the tend to lean a little to the light side while quoting numbers to welcome you in...

All cars are a blast,,, Ferrari's are great as is American muscle,,,, I hope you find what makes you happiest and it's within your financial expectations that's all...

[Removed user as requested]

Thanks

If I said (not right now but future) am really considering a Ford GT over a Lamborghini Diablo.... it handles better, goes harder... definately is a race car with number plates...

Are they more 'reliable' or... they will need fixing just as much as anything else if driven hard,it will just be 'cheaper' to work on/fix?

Having said that, just to clarrify that I am understanding correctly... even my Charger, once fitted out with a tube Chasis, coil overs, all alloy parts to replace the iron etc etc... If taken to the track, driven hard (equal amount as ferrari/Ford GT/Lambo/Lotus etc) it will also find things braking/not performing well and thus needing servicing etc more often, its just gonna cost a different amount of $ to a ferrari, but both should last as long as eachother If im going all out? (so its not like one is garbage, its just one costs more to do what it needs than the other costs to meet the same needs)

[tazzz25906112]

Thanks

If I said (not right now but future) am really considering a Ford GT over a Lamborghini Diablo.... it handles better, goes harder... definately is a race car with number plates...

Are they more 'reliable' or... they will need fixing just as much as anything else if driven hard,it will just be 'cheaper' to work on/fix?

Having said that, just to clarify that I am understanding correctly... even my Charger, once fitted out with a tube chassis, coil overs, all alloy parts to replace the iron etc etc... If taken to the track, driven hard (equal amount as Ferrari/Ford GT/Lambo/Lotus etc) it will also find things braking/not performing well and thus needing servicing etc more often, its just gonna cost a different amount of $ to a Ferrari, but both should last as long as each other If Im going all out? (so its not like one is garbage, its just one costs more to do what it needs than the other costs to meet the same needs)

Correct and well put,,,, it's being realistic about each of the cars built in/or inherent limitations and your expectations on operating costs... When I did the exotic cars I thought they where built to already "handle that stuff",,, boy did I get an education quickly..

A street prepared exotic is not however going to be built as tough as a good pro-touring car.... The exotic will kill the pro-touring car in most cases in areo dynamics on the flip side... In the end it's trade offs. I would put my motors in either my 72RS or my WarPath build against a Ferrari motor any day and I'll bet they will out last under same use conditions as they wouldn't have to work as hard (big cubic inch, big power on pump gas),,, the areo dynamics of the Ferrari will make better sense/use of the hp on hand.... BTW to outfit a Charger with a tube chassis and all the bells and whistles will likely cost as much or more than that 355 Ferrari... That said the maintenance costs after being sorted out should be substantially less...

Often it's not the purchase price that breaks the Camels back, it's the ongoing maintenance costs and especially parts availability that can be of greater concern... I currently have two pro-touring builds that have substantially more money in them than buying a 512BB (one of my favorite Ferrari's as a driving machine),, it's all about choices and personal preferences in the end....

[go-fish]

Don't fault you a bit. I actually stopped in a lot the other week and looked at a 308 GTS. It was my first "dream car" as I grew up watching Thomas Magnum driving one. I thought about finishing my car and selling it for a really nice 308. Just about any Ferrari does it for me.

Good on you. I know what your performance goals are with any car you decide on and you will probably be money ahead and reach you performance goals faster with your decision. As said already, you don't have to leave us here at the P-T community and please do post pics when you can.

[Removed user as requested]

Doing what I ultimatelly wanted, I assume the Charger would not be worth it ($200 000 at least)

Just on big bits...

$5000-$10 000 I assume for Custom Gauges/Dash board/Interior

$20 000 for a show quality paint job where every body panel is made straigt and all the gaps around whole car = the same.

$45 000 for a complete alloy block/engine (528ci Hemi) at 650-700hp

$12 000 for a 6 Speed manual gearbox fitted with Alluminium casing

$5000-$7000 for wheels and tires

Couple Thousand to get the propper race style brakes (ceramic are they? - they stop twice as hard basicaly of normal brakes... otherwise billet alloy)

$40 000 (if not alot more) to get a propper tube Chasis built with all the customized suspension and propper race shocks worth $1000 each.

Then all other parts in the whole car that are steel to be converted to alluminium to bring the charger down from 1700kg to perhaps 1400kg if possible (3700lbs down to 3100-3200lbs), whatever that could cost, probbably over $5000 here.

Then all the labour cost to stick this whole thing together and make it all work propperly together.

I dont see the car being done for less than $200 000.

With all that stuff above mentioned, if I ever want to sell or its not for me once its done... I just lost $100 000 on resale value. Not to mention its still going to be loud as hell (which I dont want for cruising), its still going to be left hand drive (i want right hand drive) its still not going to feel racelike sitting inside due to the size of the car, and as far as maintenence goes... I couldnt see this being a cheap car to keep running, and end of the day, its still isnt a 'ferrari', dosnt have hat same essence, to own a ferrari is to own a ferrari, even the charger with 1 milion thrown at it, its still just a 'dodge charger' at the end of the day... and for Business purposes, definately the ferrari is going to be better for me.

Ultimatelly, I could get the ferrari engine (or whatever I decide to get in future) a little bigger... add an extra litre-2 to it, to make it a little easier on the motor, + these cars can be 300hp less and still be just as quick due to the shear fact they weigh so much less.

Talking about THAT goal with the charger... I think Im way ahead of the game going to an exotic. As said, I can spend 45 000 extra after selling my charger and I got a F355. I can spend 45 000 on the charger... thats only gonna supply the engine, what about everything else mentioned? Its not gonna be anything like the Ferrari, not even close with 45 000 thrown at it. At 200-300 000 that it would cost to build... I honestly... would have prefered to own a Ford GT for that kind of money. Faster than Ferraris and Lamborghinis, looks absolutelly stunning and I assume cheaper to keep maintained cause its a Ford (that also means initial cost to buy is less than ferraris etc).

Ofcourse Im not talking less than a F355... the F355 is a way for me to own an exotic and enjoy it till I got the funds to upgrade to either a Lamborghini Diablo, Ford GT (or something rather that costs 300 000+). This way I got the right sort of car for what I ultimately want to own. And as said, spend 45k for a ferrari F355 or 45k on the charger... the F355 will be everything the charger isnt. I mean its standing quarter is 12.9 at 375hp/285 ft/lbs torque. The charger even with the 426 hemi at 420hp and 490ft/lbs torque is 13.4 or something.

Now the Charger has way more torque not that much more power... I always thought more torque = faster quarter which means the power is not relivant... I dont get why the ferraris so much quicker when theres over 200ft/lbs of torque difference and not enough weight difference for that to make sense... Unless I dont understand how HP and TQ work. 375 HP -420hp, the ferrari is faster given the weight difference but 285 tq vs 490 tq, the charger should be quicker and I thought the car with more tq (if identical crs eg: one had 500hp 400 tq and the other had 500tq 400 hp) the one with the 500tq would win not the 500hp.

So I dont get that

[tazzz25906112]

I'd say it a function of putting down all the power and not loosing it in the suspension/drive line sort falls.... I see where you are coming from now with the exotic vs Charger now..... When you first posted I thought you were looking at Ferrari's (stock in nature) exotic playing the roll of a well built pro-touring car without added maintenance costs....

You logic is very sound given your desire to step through the cars while fully anticipating upgrades to the 355 to make it the car you want to play with on your terms... You really should investigate the 355 challenge cars as I think it'd be pretty dam close to what you want right out of the box (road worthy aspect & exhaust might need to be looked at in your jurisdiction)... Good luck, happy hunting and by all means keep us all in the loop.....

[SLO_Z28]

I think some of those estimates are high for getting what you want. You can buy a Dodge R6P8 small block and get a 870HP engine that spins 9000rpm for hours at a time, you can get them for about 20k in great condition. T56 Magnum even with all the bells and whistles wont cost more than 3700. A 20,000 paint job on a track car is a bad idea.

If youre going to get a late model, id at least look at a ZR1. You could buy it now, race it, and have a comfortable car and not have to give up on your charger build.

[Off Duty]

G-man, do what make you happy.
I love the Charger styling, but "it ain't never gonna be no Ferrari" (lol).
Even in Pro-Touring style.

IMO- touring is touring, regardless of what you drive, as long as it can do it reliably.
Best of luck with it :)

And a little OT if you don't mind?
You've mentioned in several posts that for "business purposes" the Ferrari would be a better choice.
Should I ask?
What exactly is it you do?

[Removed user as requested]

Hey Skipper... not sure what OT means (and a little OT if you dont mind) ?

I sent you email on your question, due to integrity purposes.

SloZ28 - Those estimates are based on what companies in Australia (restoration shops etc) charge. I can get a Tremek 5 speed, with bellhousing fabricated, floor pans chopped up and modified for the stick etc for around 6000-7000 in parts + labour (remember We got shipping costs to australia for these big parts n that aint cheap), to go with a 6 speed Viper box, its going to be at least 10 000... I added an extra 2000 in my estimation for 'alloy casing'.

Because I want an Orange car, my QQ1 blue charger would need to get blasted in and outand resprayed top to bottom, since im already in that process, they may aswell do it propperly (hence the 15-20k)

A Hemi engine BB which is the only one I want, would cost around 35 000 in stock form 528, with ALLOY block/polished. Adding the engine up to 650-700hp, I estimated around the 45 000 mark considering the 548ci alloy Hemi is around 55 000 to get here.

The only price ive totaly imagined with nothing to compare to really is a complete tube chasis build. I spoke to Johnsons hot-roding in the States that did that red 528hemi Barracuda (which was a 500 000 dollar spent car - all custom carbon fibre etc) they said your looking at 20 000 starting price for a tube chasis and depending on what you wanna do to it, it could go up sinificantly.

So looking at that, thats 25 000AU at least. Then looking at that race cuda they built for 400 000+, I think the 40 000 mark on tube chasis if not more is ok of an estimate. So even if I fell 300 000 less than those serious built race/pro-tourers im still at 200 000. I dont see how I can get that and pay 100k.

So my estimates are I personlly think, educated estimates.

I understand theres cheaper stuff, but the stuff i mentioned is the stuff I would want. I dont want a small bblock 820 hp motor... in the charger its gotta be the BB Hemi. etc.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Just to shake things up a bit, and in good humor, here's a chart I saw in Art Morrison's 2011 catalogue:

Model 0-60mph Quarter Mile Skid Pad 60-0mph
GT55 4.2 seconds 12.6 seconds @116mph 0.94G 132 feet
Cadillac XLR-V ($100K) 4.3 seconds 12.7 @ 112 mph 0.87G 123 feet
Corvette C6 ($54K) 4.5 seconds 12.8 @ 115 mph 0.98G 110 feet
Ferrari F430 Spider ($205K) 4.0 seconds 12.3 @ 117 mph 0.90G 107 feet
Ford Shelby GT500 ($48K) 4.7 seconds 13.1 @ 112 mph 0.87G 122 feet
Lamborghini Gallardo ($184K) 4.0 seconds 12.3 @ 117 mph 0.95G 110 feet
Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG ($187K) 4.0 seconds 12.0 @ 123 mph 0.90G 115 feet
Porsche 911 GT3 ($118K) 4.2 seconds 12.4 @ 114 mph 0.92G 119 feet

http://www.artmorrison.com/2006cat/2011catalog.pdf - go to P. 5
Now I'll admit the 55 has the Aero of a billboard going down the road and it's weight shows in braking distance, but look at how far you can get with a well built car!

[tazzz25906112]

Hey G-man funny enough I mentioned the challenge cars and here is one that popped up on sleazebay...... Have a look it might be the cats meow for what you want http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1996-FERRARI-355-CHALLENGE-RACE-CAR-CAGE-WING-TRADES-OK-/330554114110?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4cf68f803e