Sup. I'm writing a story, not knowledgeable about cars. Need to find a car for a character that:

Piggy backing on this, MR2 or E36 M3

I guess tough to drive isn't the right phrase, more like it's no-frills, not inherently powerful, but good enough that you could race in it.

toyota AE86 trueno

MemeR2 is probably your best option, OP

Rx8/Rx8
Mr2
Integra

Seconding this. As far as "hard to drive" goes I'd say a 911. Less expensive would be an sw20 turbo.

>not inherently powerful

BRZ/FRS/86 it is! Fucking meme that it is.

The older models are not nearly as expensive as a new one. And they're the ones that gave the car the death skid machine following.

Miata

/Thread

You can get a 3rd gen Viper for well under 50k, even as low as 30k for "shitty" examples. The Viper is the antithesis of a "rich prick" kind of car, being generally a very simple/brutish/uncomfortable/unrefined car with a Dodge badge (something no richfag would want) on it. People buy Vipers because they like driving, not because they like impressing other people.

this
make your story or whatever popular so it becomes a meme like the AE86

Maybe if you gave us more story details as to the character who's going to own it and what plot reasons dictate it being difficult to drive and race worthy we might be able to give you a more suitable vehicle.

bmw 3 series, but specifically e92/m3 would be a good idea

or subaru, like a wrx sti, if you don't mind the vapemobile aesthetic- they're very competent cars in rally and autocross, but also perfectly daily-driveable in current spec.

>people suggesting RX8, MR2, AE86, Integra. 300zx
he said good for racing, not slow shitboxes from the 80's

except the MR2 isnt a shitbox, but there are much better options out there for racing

trips has wisdom

>300zx
>slow

shit nvm, the 96 turbo aint bad

With modern tires, the 300zx turbo is a high 13 sec car stock. With MINIMAL mods, you're at 500hp (3" exhaust, nistune, dual intake, boost controller)

Meant LOW 13's. People run 13.1 all day in stock manuals with todays tires.

Wasn't expecting all these actual answers, thanks all.

Maybe I'll go with the Viper then, seems legit.

I've gotten a lot of good answers actually, but long story short:

> girl lives in small town

> lots of dangerous country roads that are usually empty

> is therefore a great place for street racing

> even has people coming to visit just for that

> girl's is poor, parents divorced

> dad has Dark and Mysterious Past (TM)

> secretly used to be an ace fighter pilot, and a God-tier racer just for kicks

> girl is a pizza delivery driver, borrows dad's car to do this

> this is girl's first car, has no idea that it is incredibly difficult to drive relative to other cars, and custom-tuned to be even more brutal by her father

> this has taught her to be a really good driver

> girl doesn't think the car is anything special

> has been kept out of the racing scene because kids keep telling her 'women can't drive'

> after a bunch of circumstances lead her into the racing scene, she shows up in this car, gets laughed at, and ends up smoking everyone

The idea is to have her show up in this nothing-special looking car, or a really hardcore car, and showing off just how good she. This is so it'll attract the attention of an actually good, professional racer, who challenges her.

I've been told the plot's similar to Initial D, but I've never seen that show, and I don't want to be influenced by it for fear of being derivative, so I don't want to watch it.

Please use the BRZ/FRS/GT86, it'll be nothing like initial D.

If, in the story, this is a first car for the character, I would not go with the viper. Even people who know nothing about cars would read viper as being a kids first car as being a bit too ridiculous

Seconded.

i want to read this when you're finished- or even a draft. that said i would say that the viper is a bad choice, because normies don't own one. it's exotic in it's own way, because they're all hand-built (TM)

i'll again suggest bmw 3 series e92 or m3/subaru brz/wrx/legacy gt like i did here: the official term for what you're looking for is called a "sleeper". something thats looks like a standard shitbox but has a lot of power.

sounds like it should be a tuned 240sx. Although I can't see a fighter pilot buying one of those. Maybe an older corvette? It can't be anything newer or worth over $20k if it's the kid's first car. Who is going to relate to some kid who gets a Viper as their first car and uses it to deliver pizzas?

Miata will work good as a girls car

I like the GT, but I think the e92 better serves what I'm going for. It looks like a really plain car you'd see anyone driving.

Last thought, what do y'all think of the Chevy Cobalt SS? It looks like shit, and google says it's fast.

>> this is girl's first car, has no idea that it is incredibly difficult to drive relative to other cars, and custom-tuned to be even more brutal by her father
>> this has taught her to be a really good driver
>> girl doesn't think the car is anything special
I'm gonna throw out the Toyota MR2, already well known for snap oversteer (youtube.com/watch?v=XCaQIThdJTA) that can be exasperated by modifying the suspension.

You can also say the engine is heavily modified for more power to exasperate normal oversteer, as well, with the added benefit of more speed, of course.

>she shows up in this car, gets laughed at,
The older MR2s like the W10 might get that kind of reaction from most people.

Is this even a question?
MR2 SW20 Turbo

Doesn't have to be as flashy as pic related, as its pretty unassuming stock. A white hardtop SW20 would be best.

also nice initial d clone lmao

I forgot to add earlier that the SW20 is renowned as one of the most difficult cars to drive (at least for new drivers to the MR platform) because of snap oversteer.

It was my first car, so its cheap enough to get a relatively non-shit one for under 10k. I spent 8k on mine, but it was one of the most clean examples I've ever seen. ~100k miles, perfect super red paint, garaged and rarely driven for its entire life.

M R 2

Not OP but the AW11 wouldn't be good for the story. Over Rev! already used one, and if one is used in this story, it would be nothing but the weird bastard child of Initial D and Over Rev!.

Just use a shitty trashed looking SW20. It's much harder to drive than the AW11 and it can be tuned to make some pretty good power stock or mostly stock components.

3k Civic w hectic mods

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

-Gets made fun of a lot for being Korean. It was one of Hyundai's first decent cars so the Hyundai name didn't mean shit when it first came out.
-The window looks like a thick, short, circumcised cock from a side view.
-It's a good (but not great) car that lots of everyday non-racing people drive.
-Pretty powerful, all trims RWD, LSD optional, manual trans. option.
-It does lack some refinement as far as being a "driver's car" which gives it quirks that make it somewhat harder to drive really well.

Mr2 second gen

C5 z06. Not too expensive, can be wrenched up into a machine that will try and kill you. In the hands of a good driver, could btfo of cars costing many many times as much with bad drivers. Its attainable and not unrealistic depending on the nature of girls dad. Maybe he has health problems and can't drive it anymore and lets her take it.

please watch it in it's entirety, if you're smart you can make it good where it failed (i.e. most of the post-3rd stage stuff)

This but with a supercharger or turbo.

ZZW30 MR2?
It looks like a "girl car" but there's no reason it can't be as fucking difficult to drive as a AW20.

I know this isn't Veeky Forums but I am gonna just ask, why ate you writing a car/racing story if you know nothing about cars? I know you can always just hope most of your readers wont know cars either.

Haven't you heard the old advice "write what you know". Otherwise you risk writing far outside your depth and the results can be discouraging when you get the feedback. Most audiences like to believe that the author has genuine insight into the subjects of the story.

Why write a car/racing story if you are not knowledgeable about it?

Viper is perfect. Older models are still top performers. They have bang for the buck. Also, they are notoriously difficult to drive as dont have any traction control. They take a very skilled driver to manage without traction control. They will get away from you.

This. Most realistic answer.

Imagine a tiny chick pulling up to a midnight twisties meet.. The group would primarily be tuned Jap cars and BMWs and she pulls up in a Z06. There would definitely be some laughs as Corvettes are known for straight line racing and spinning out.

OP's looking for a car that racers will laugh at when the character shows up in it. They won't laugh at Viper or Corvette like they laughed at the 86 in Initial D.

El Camino.
or some kind of sleeper. She herself wouldn't know what a sleeper is since she assumed the car was naturally fast while everyone else thought it was a pos.

>rx8
>slow
Clearly you are one of those bandwagon travelers. Leave the debating to people who have actually had track time.

agree those set of facts take viper out of story. A viper cannot hide its fangs. Its an obvious race car and competitive no matter how old. You'll need to use a customized car that is plain vanilla on the outside but super tweaked under the hood.

here is a real sneaky car for a racer. 1986 Dodge Shelby GLHS.

I cant think of any better unrecognized pocket rocket than a 1986 Dodge Omni GLHS (a Carol Shelby Car) tweaked out. Also fits your bill for pizza Delivery and girls first car.

youtu.be/ZWV0D5yrhxk

mr2
miata

A turbocharged MX5 would fit every criteria. Gotta keep that shit on the boost if you want speed, plus it'll always be the underdog against an expensive, stock sports car.

How has nobody suggested and old Volvo yet? An old 850 T5R works perfectly for this concept.

>ugly shitbox that looks like a brick on the outside
>non-intimidating baby yellow paint
>easily obtainable by poorfags

But
>AWD option
>turbo engine with factory "overboost" feature
>can be tuned and modified to stupid levels

Bonus points if you use the wagon in the story OP. Pic and video related

youtube.com/watch?v=0ReaHyJ0m9E&t=1m42s

I like the idea of the car too. No original idea exists and all that, but I'd rather not use the exact same car as another racing show. That, and the early models of the car look similar enough to the AE86 (which I'm guessing is a meme car thanks to the show) that it really would look derivative.

I'll go ahead and watch it, then. I'm afraid of copying it, but if there does end up being a bunch of similarities, I guess I can truthfully say it's just a coincidence.

I've always liked watching racing. Dressed up as Jeff Gordon for Halloween when I was a kid. Street racing fascinated me, cause all the cool kids would do it in high school, although they did it with motorcycles.

But beyond that? I write about stuff I know nothing about all the time. I just research a lot of shit beforehand, and do my best with it. It usually tends to work. I guess this is more ambitious, since the kind of people who will read a story about racing are likely to know a thing or two about cars. But fuck it, I've already got a nice story outline.

Corvettes look like they can race just by looking at, but I like 's description. Who to trust?

So far, it's a toss-up between the e92 and the CZ. Might as well throw the El Camino into the running, since, oh boy, does it look like the kind of car a cuban immigrant would drive.

I could see the 2004 RX-8 having the effect I'm going for.

Gonna move onto the rich kid's car as well. I think this will be a lot easier to find, but any picks of the top of y'all's heads?

Plus an old Volvo 850 is actually the kind of practical car you would use for a shitty delivery job, nobody is using a C4 Z06 or a Viper to deliver pizzas what the fuck

1970 cuda would be perfect

In that context, the Corvette might get some laughs but not a whole lot.

They'd actually be laughing more at the driving than the vehicle itself, because they know not spinning out in such a car is something that's up to the driver's skill.

But the point is that people who look at it are going to know it was made to go fast, even if it has some limitations that can cause problems for the driver.

this

AW11 MR2, but make it the supercharged variant or one that was swapped. I have a blacktop 4AGE in mine and it makes the car so much zippier than you'd expect

Scratch the previous options, it's a tie between these two and the e92, but most likely the Shelby. Holy fuck, these are perfect.

Although, the Viper got such a bad reaction, I'm kinda tempted to just make that the car. Have the exchange between her and her dad be like:

> "Hey, dad, since I got the new job at Pizza Hut, I need a car. Can I borrow yours?"
> beat
> "The Viper?!"
> laughs his ass off
> "You're gonna deliver pizzas in a Viper?!"
> "Uhm, what's the big deal? I just need a car."
> Father is amused at his daughter's ignorance.
> "Alright," he says, still getting out the laughter "go ahead. Deliver fucking pizzas in my Viper. Let me know how it goes."

That's what I thought, yeah. Corvettes look like they're built to actually race.

An EG6 hatch with a few simple mods, perfect pizza delivery car

OP is a tard

>pizza delivery
>uses dads "sekrit racurrr car"
>viper
>bmw

just lol. you need to go for a sleeper.

> could be plausibly owned by an average person today
> can be used for racing
> is tough to drive

look no further

>120hp
> is tough to drive

lel

Seconding c5 zo6

>over 5 seconds to 60mph
>almost 15 second 1/4 mile

doesn't sound very fast

You could use a C4 corvette. They're more competent than most people think and being a V8 means they can make serious power. However they're dirt cheap and kids think they're total trash.

3k civic

Autism.

This

I vote for the Volvo. No one expects a Volvo to be a quick car, but the 850 T5R and V70R are perfect example of factory sleepers

ok op. you should indeed use the viper. it sounds like you need an almost mythic car that a mysterious ex secret jet pilot would own. none of the other cars would fit this description. they are all too pedestrian. you need it too be a 1st generation though. those were the ones that were so dangerous. they had no traction control or abs or anything else to help the driver. they were notoriously difficult to drive when at high speeds. you had to just be skilled enough to drive it. it was also the least flashy and is unassuming to the untrained eye. it almost looks like a fat miata. and if tuned correctly and driven with enough skill could beat almost any other car in a race.

as a side note i think a lot of people missed the point. if i understood op correctly the dad didn't want a sleeper. the car was for his benefit. a super secret fighter pilot racecar driver wouldn't have a 'surprisingly fast' volvo wagon. and a corvette is to conspicuous. everyone knows what a corvette is. and its not an mr2 or any other ricebox. you all just want it to be initial d again.
the viper is just the right mix. its not particularly famous or showy and is still a realistic car for someone to own.
not to put words in ops mouth but i think the car is supposed to be a character in a sense as well. and a volvo or a corvette just wouldnt be

it is exactly a wide V10 miata with no roof, well described.

This is well-said. I don't think other people were wrong in their suggestions, since they did indeed suggestions based on the criteria. But your description of the Viper (no abs, no trac control, sounds like a fucking death trap) makes it sound appealing.

Alright, fuck it. If I don't end up going for the more practical options, we'll do the Viper. The racing girl who delivers pizzas in a deathtrap.

Pontiac Fiero.

>women
>driving

Op should make the car a sileighty instead

Fiero's are easy to as hell to drive.

I don't know what sort of tone you're going for OP, but the only issue with the viper is that you'd have to be down right retarded to deliver pizza in an 8l V10. You'd use more gas than you'd make money. Also she'd be fucking famous as the girl who delivers pizza in a loud ass snek. any young guy in town would know her as snek girl after a while. Normie frat guys were young too, and all know what a viper is.

Why no 70s nova?

RX-8
shit's weirder than most cars, and unlike other RX cars, it's more of an everyday car but can still be used on the track

Hey, didn't know this car can actually look good!

Is this set in the US? If so, it's stupid to use anything else than some old muscle car. Something like a pontiac le mans or an olds cutlass?

E 3 0
3
0

If we're posting sleepers, can't forget about the Audi S2/RS2. Looks like a generic '90s Audi but it has essentially a Group B rally engine under the hood, and can be boosted to utterly stupid levels.

MR2. Snap oversteer. Google it.

This. Looks like a shoebox to younger kids, superb handling and tuning potential. Loved by Europeans and Americans.

Literally the last good german car
>cheap eBay turbo kicks in
>softtop pops halfway back unintentionally
Never have i had a shitbox so scary yet so manageable
>mfw an 333i is up for auction next week a few towns over
Do i break the piggybank lads? A 3.2L e30 makes my winkle tingle

Riced up 3k Civic

Alright, what about a Saab 9-3 Viggen? It's literally named after the Viggen fighter jet that Saab also makes. Saab whole advertising strategy was that they were made by the same company that makes fighter planes, so it would fit in well with why the dad would own one.

The Viggen was also notorious for having brutal torque steer that required a fair bit of muscle to control. youtu.be/0A7KfHG2c2E

Like the Volvo they look pretty unassuming but can be tuned to pretty stupid levels. They're also a little more attractive than the 850

Good suggestion, these are total torque monsters when tuned well.

A Saab 900 SPG or a 9000 Aero would work well on the same concept too. The 900 SPG is a bit older and rattier looking, more like a death trap if you were to crash it. No airbags, traction control, abs, etc.