Secret Sports Cars

[ProgRocker]

Citroen AX 1.1, mainly due to the very low weight.

 

+ 1 Sister's ex partner had one in the 1990s. I remember he said it was as quick as some hot hatches.

 

For the same reason, the Citroen Visa 17 D was no slouch @ 0-60 in about 13 seconds. Excellent for a normally aspirated diesel car.

[jonny69]

Those RS2000 Mk5 Escorts were quite quick. I remember having my ass handed to me once when I was nailing my Anglia off the lights. I was loaded up with a mate and camping gear, but it shouldn't have had me that easily.

 

I was quite surprised by how fast the old 106 GTI was as well. One of the first hatches that really made me think **** me this is fast

[Fat_Pirate]

Another vote for the AX 1.1. I was working at a Citroen dealer when they came out, I was most annoyed that'd they'd annihilate my Capri 2.0S. They did only weigh 645 KG though.

[face]

We used to have a set of 1990 Astra 1.3 estates as pool cars back in the day - they were shit hot.

 

We also had a Bedford SWB van version with a 1.6 4 speed box which was insanely quick

[John F]

I remember being very surprised at how a mate's Citroen AX GT could almost keep up with my Suzuki GS650 Katana back in the early 90s... the AX redlined at 8,000 rpm.

[garethj]

Metro GTa

 

When I had my Alfasud Sprint, I had to make it work very hard to keep up with a green Metro GTa, no chance of overtaking.

 

However he was obviously a local boy and I wasn't, that's worth at least 10mph around the twistys

[eddyramrod]

This! 1996 ERF EC11.

 

From new it had been an artic unit, 4x2. The firm bought it secondhand and had it stretched to make a long rigid, with a third, lifting, axle, a demountable flat and a Hiab behind the cab. It still had a 380bhp 11-litre Cummins straight-six with 16-speed gearbox. Then I joined the firm, and discovered that once you got rid of the load and raised that third axle, you could fling it about like an old Transit round town. It had so much torque that under those conditions, town driving required only two or three gears (at the upper end of the box) so while Mr 316 was rowing up and down his five, I could serenely stroll away from him on a wave of power and sweep through the approaching roundabout at any speed I liked, as long as there was nothing coming. And of course I had easily the best view of that... Once on the motorway obviously I would roar up to 55 and... instantly be left. But on major roads at town speeds, this is the life, it really is.

 

I've had a few cars that fulfil this brief, one way or another.

I mean, please, it's just an old dirty-blue Maestro, right? Plastic hubcaps, ffs! Yeah, but MG 2.0i. I loved it, many a Saxo Kid got a shock from the old bloke in the Maestro!

 

Seriously? Oh yes. 1600 petrol, 4-speed. Mostly driven virtually empty, and the back springs were sagging, but again, around town, what fun! There wasn't an MGB that could keep up!

 

1981 Daihatsu Charade. 3 cylinders, 993cc. I came to it from a Dolomite 1850 and it made me feel ten years younger. It weighed buttons so was a handy tool in all five gears, and even had a pleasing rasp to the exhaust. I'd love another one.

 

1971 Marina 1.8, single carb model, mine in 1983 (immediately preceding the Bedford van above). A couple of years before, I worked at a petrol station that had a sales pitch attached, and I remember VEM 1M, a Harvest Gold 1.8 coupe they had. Everyone who drove it swore by it: fastest Marina we've ever seen, stuff like that. This was another in that mould. Not much could stay with it. I put 165 tyres on the back (standard size being 145) and rotten chassis rails meant I had rather a lot of negative camber on the front. Handle? Like it was painted on the road!

 

And finally, I have to give an honourable mention to Lada. Specifically, this one, a Riva 1500 SLX or GLX or whatever the top of the range was in 1985. It was 1993. I set out for Oulton Park to see the BTCC, but started late because I overslept. I hit the back end of the queue a long way from the circuit and didn't feel like crawling for the next three hours, probably missing the race or at least not finding a decent viewpoint. So I remembered there was banger racing at Crewe the same day, and struck off across country to catch that instead. Well, for a solo fast drive on a beautiful bank holiday, that red Lada has left me with some damn good memories. It flowed through sweeping bends with little need to slow down, and when I wanted power, it was there for me. OK, not much, I know, but enough to cope with Cheshire countryside.

[babydriver]

my very first memory was in a new Renault 14 back in the early 1980's it was the company pool car and I was allowed to drive it at the age of 18 or so. (did not have age restrictions so much in them there days) Could not stop the wheels spinning at every gear change, it was so light, amd great fun.

 

Next one was when I worked temp for a local VW garage and had to take cars for its pdi just before new reg time, it was a 1.4 lupo, what a rocket that was and would turn on a six pence, I was racing a mate in a Subaru px car who took me to pick it up down some country lanes and nearly missed my turning. he said I nearly rolled it and had never seen a car on two wheels before. That was a belting drive and I vowed should I win the lottery I would have a 1.6GTI version with all the goodies.

 

Feel sorry for the guy who got it new, we could zero the milometer so long as we did not do over so many miles

[Wilko220]

Peugoet 309 1.4 Trio S. My 1991 J-reg example seemed to outdo anything at the lights, and I had an indicated 115 out of it once (continental driving, obviously...)

 

Plus it had amazing green seatbelts. Loved it.

[Rebuilda]

The other halfs 2.0 TDCi mundaneo is well quick for an oil burner but I think the biggest shock I ever had was a datsun sunny 120Y derived van, 70 on the speedo in second and screaming like a banshee, wasn't my van and wasn't me driving.

I also remember coming down a welsh forest stage in a RWD 1600 toyota carina, chasing the course closing RS2000 on a stage of the welsh international rally. We had been marshalling and 4 up with all the camping kit it was right down on the suspension and gravity was helping quite a lot but we kept up enough so that the CC car had to ask what was under the bonnet.