Scooby Replacement

Audi RS2. Good ones for ten grand.

*n

MORRIS 8 SERIES E.

Sierra Saphire Cosworth?



That would be my choice.

GT40 Replica with Ford Racing Engine.

id have to go for a civic type R

How about a Rover 620Ti? If he can put up with it being desperately "uncool" he could use the spare cash from a Scooby to make it interesting. You could get a mint one for about a grand.

Mate of mine, lobbed his scooby in for a Peugeot 206 Gti 180 !!! Nuts I know.

I know I would say that, but the faster Volvo 9 Series models are pretty good considering they're worth next to nothing.

I once found a factory long wheelbase 960 with a 3 litre straight six, (which isn't BMW M5 territory but certainly isn't stereotypical Volvo labrador or grandfather clock-transport territory either), all for three grand. Hardly pocket change I know, but it was in very good condition and cost over £30 000 brand new less than a decade before. I doubt your mate'll find one exactly like it but if anything a standard wheelbase 3 litre 960 is likely to be faster again with less weight and the same mechanicals, and doubtless cheaper on fuel and insurance too, and you can pick those up pretty cheap on ebay or in your local autotrader.

The other good thing is that they'll be a damn sight cheaper to insure than an Impreza, and as much as it's a bit subtle in comparison, that might be a good thing, less likely to get nicked or smashed up by neds, and the fact that it's different means it'll stand out when it's parked next to Scoobs and Lancer Evos at shows, cruises or whatever your mate gets up to.

A 960 like you might find on Ebay or in the Autotrader.

Better still the fact that the same six cylinder engine is now made in turbocharged form for the XC90 and S80 shows it could handle a bit of upgrading and there's even a ready supply of bits to do it. I reckon our 960 would be a beast with a pair of turbos and a bit of mechanical work otherwise, must do it when I've got the cash.

The same applies to the four cylinder 940 turbos too, they have the older styling but you could always bolt on a later 960/S90 front end, and there are plenty of well trodden avenues for juicing up that four cylinder enigne. I've heard of 300bhp plus from them and you can't make the enigne itself break if you try. I've seen a few well abused ones break down from turbo troubles a few times but each time the engine itself survives, and if you were seriously upgrading for power and torque you'd probably have a different turbo on there anyway.

Other than that I like the sound of old BMW 5 series, the older the better. Cheap beyond belief, still relatively cool and not exactly slugs, and you can get some with good six cylinder engines (which could no doubt be easily swapped for the more modern, more powerful six cylinders in later BMWs which could probably be found in scrappies or salvage specialists as writeoffs with good mechanicals.) Plus the old sharknose style ones are bloody lovely to look at.

BMW E28 5 Series. But any other old, bargain straight six BMW will do I reckon. Again, Autotrader might be an option.

how about something like this quick and make a better noise than a scooby