If Chevy produced a smaller, lighter, more nimble version of the Z06, I'd buy it in a minute, the car is just too big

Nothing will match the rush of a ZX-10R I suppose....low to mid 9s in the 1/4 bone stock

 

C6Zs aren't exactly slouches in anything...Not to mention, physically they are smaller cars than C5s. I'd give it a shot.

 

Agree 110%.

 

You're asking too much for a decently priced 500 horsepower car that can be daily driven. The C6 is slightly smaller than the C5, and it's plenty nimble enough. Curb weight is listed as 3132. How much lighter do you want it to be???? It has 275's in the front and 325's in the back! In the straight line it's an 11 second car if you ditch the stock tires but keep everything else stock. It's also pretty comfortable inside for what it is. It has dual zone climate control for example. Unlike the C5 Z06, the interior doesn't look like my old Cavalier's interior. It has about as much room as an FC Turbo II inside, it's not some kind of Buick Riviera.

I'm not an LSx swap fan on Rx-7's or any other car really, but I am a C6 Z06 fan. A C6 Z06 is like a modded LSx FD except it's engineered properly as a system instead of a motor shoehorned into a chassis that was not designed for it.

 

The aluminum frame on the C6Z is cool, but I think it only saves about 100 pounds or so. Anyway, I agree, with those monster wheels and tires it's pretty light, but more of a super cruiser/brawler than a true track weapon. Even the GT2 is about 3,000 pounds I believe, so there aren't many low mass options. Lotus cars have significant weaknesses, starting with that buzzy little Toyota engine, or the limp 6 banger in the Evora.

Noble is my only hope, ha.

 

M600 review: this is how it's done

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...4.4-V8/242729/

 

I am too one that firmly believes this car will be a collectible

Gordon I have a few theories on that school of thought:

1) Those people are stuck with the notion that it’s a Japanese car so therefore it will never be a collectible. Fallacy. Just because Japanese cars haven’t really been in the collectible list in the past, it certainly does not mean that they never will. Just look back at what America first thought about Japanese cars in general or electronics. Most people in the U.S. regarded them as a joke. Yeah no one is laughing now…

2) They weren’t really around when the car first came out. To them it’s just a 10K car that they bought used. Yeah it’s pretty and sort of fast (compared with today’s cars) but that’s it. To us who remember the FD: It had price tag of nearly $40k and in the early 90’s it was truly only available to those with disposable income. Now given its exotic looks, price tag, overall performance, the FD made a huge impact in the car industry.

3) The condition of their FDs. If it’s not in tip top shape they never truly enjoy the car and thus never appreciate what it really is.

 

It depends on how one defines what is collectable.

I don't fall into the owner demographic described in the previous post: my FD is in excellent shape, well maintained, and totally stock (aside from FC thermoswitch). Yet, I still don't consider mine collectable, no matter how much I love it.

For something to have a high collector value, it needs to transcend its niche. For instance, all car lovers can appreciate the value of a Jaguar E-type. Even a non comic afficionada knows they are holding something of value when they pick up Superman #1.

I don't think the FD is like that, or is very sought after outside of the rotary community.

 

How old are you?

that's because it isn't... yet. That's the point you missed in your entire post.

In 1985, a pontiac GTO was considerered very desireable only in certain circles (sound familiar). Now as far as the rest of automotive community was concerned they couldn't care less and hence it did not bring a high price tag back then. Thruthfully it was just considered an aging car of a previous era. Go out and buy one now... I've see prices go for 80K plus depending on condition and model type.

 

That's awesome, the cyclone was very quick the 4.3 V6 turbo had a lot of potential! It wasn't technically a truck.

 

The reason the FD may become collectible someday isn't just pure rarity in numbers but rarity in concept—I've come to the realization that Mazda (and other Japanese manufacturers) will probably never build another car like it. With the way cars have evolved, it's easy to forget how unique this car is against it's contemporaries in styling, design, and execution.

The C6Z is a pretty amazing car almost precisely because it it what the FD was in it's day—15 years later, and it still doesn't have the visual design perfection that the FD does, nice looking though it is. There are only so many of those kind of cars from any era.

 

While I believe the FD will be somewhat collectible in a decade or so, things seem a bit different over here in Oceania.
FDs are rather abundant here (NZ) - we have very lax import laws (only recently have things tightened up). The same applies for Australia, and I also believe the UK had a similar system as well.
Looking at it from the USA's point of view, I think this relative abundance will forever be thorn in the side - it is hard to call a car collectible when not only are there 50K of them still around overseas, but the majority of that 50K are (not to be demeaning) better models.

In my view, the true collectible is the SP model - only 25 officially (perhaps another 15 exist unofficially) ever made. Alternatively, the Spirit R could be considered the flagship collectible model, but IMHO the uniqueness and true motorsport heritage of the SP makes it more desirable.

 

Being in the USA: it doesn't matter if there are 10 million FDs over seas, since they can't be shipped here. It's all about availability and to us 13,XXX is the number of total available units. Sure you may sneak one here and there but it won't make a dent as far as availability is concerned.

 

*10000

 

Couldn't have said it better myself Gordon. The FD is simply an amazing car and set stopping and handling records in top name magazines when they first came out. Unfortunately though, I am sure we will never see anything like the FD made in the future - especially from Mazda.

It was a tunnel vision design - Mazda didn't care about MPG, who would buy it, or how many kids you could fit in the back - they simply wanted to make bar none, one of the best performing sports cars technology would allow for, period. And they did. And I am happy to say I own one of the most unique designs and concepts that has come out of the automotive industry to this date.

Ryan

 

I think the fact that the FD is still mentioned in magazines some 17 years later, and is an absolute icon on the tuner scene are very promising signs that this will be collectible in the future.

Now i am making an assumption here as I am only 22, but back in the muscle car era every kid had a poster on their wall of a mustang, gto, roadrunner, etc... Since Fast and the Furious every kid has dreamed of cars like the RX-7, Skyline, and Supra. Some day these kids will be grown up and looking to buy the car they drooled over as a child. Perhaps even more promising is that there were about 13,000 FDs imported, compare that to the abundance of old muscle cars that were produced.

I'm just glad I have had already had the opportunity to buy my FD . Heck I could care less if it becomes collectible, even today there are few cars short of 30k that can touch the FD on the track.

 

I suppose you're correct - I overlooked the fact that any imports into the states will be RHD/foreign and therefore looked down upon as far as collectors go. However, if the FD does become a true collectible, then surely your import laws will eventually recognise it as a special interest vehicle? That is becoming the case for the R33 & R34 GTR over here, a small number are allowed in per year (along with a ton of paperwork needed).

I think I was more trying say that collectibility depends alot on location.

While in 10 years time I believe that base model of the first 1000 FD's may be more desired than a 2002 base model, I doubt that it will ever be more desired than an SP or perhaps an RZ. For an extreme example, consider the McLaren F1 LM - would it be considered more collectible than one of the first McLaren F1s?
That said, whoever has chassis #00001 is obviously onto a winner, and could demand the earth

 

Knowledge is a powerful thing, but it's obvious not all people gravitate towards it...

 

You are actually looking too much into it, meaning that collectors will have the chance to frown upon LHD cars. In reality our import laws are no joke and it's tough as nails to get a car into the states. In fact there has been a couple of import companies that have been raided by the federal goverment and then proceeded to confiscated vehicles at both the shop(s) and at the new owner's residences.

Do a google search on motorex and Kaizo.



if only to dream.... Even Bill Gates has problems with that:

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/18/b...-of-the-state/

4 years later only the truly wealthy are making some headway for the 959....

http://www.insideline.com/porsche/95...rsche-959.html

 

Out of curiosity, asked my wife what was the lowest number she would accept for her car (purely hypothetical). Her answer was "Not under $20K."

 

Not the SC version.