What's your unicorn car?

[G.Irish]

Me, Chan, and RJ were having dinner the other night, and the conversation inevitably shifted to the BRZ/86. We all almost felt like we should buy the car because as enthusiasts, it's one of the few times in recent memory where a car has been made that is almost exactly what we asked for. Then Chan said, if someone made a RWD diesel sports car, he would have to buy, almost regardless of the price. For me, if Honda brought over one of the JDM Civic Type-R's or made a badass RWD Prelude, I'd have to buy it, whether I needed a new car or not.

That got me to thinking, everyone has some car, or some combination of attributes that would cause them to make an irrational purchase. Maybe there's a car that someone doesn't make anymore that you'd buy if they made a new version of. Or maybe it's a car that isn't sold here. Or perhaps there's some car that is still made but they've fucked it up over the years.

What car is your must-buy-consequences-be-damned? I know what Goodspeed's is

[D_Eclipse9916]

F355, I dont know why its my unicorn car but it is. Maintenance is horrendous (have to pull the engine to do the 30k mile service). But its the most beautiful Ferrari in my eyes. Yes the 430 is beautiful too forr what it is, but its not a classic. I think the 458 is pukeworthy. I discussed ownership with Ferrari of Washington, and they suggest 360/430s are better with maintenance; but I dont care (and probably out of my price range if newer; hell all of them are out of my price range right now :lol: ). If I were to get out of racing, I would save for a few years and get one and have a pos sedan or truck to get me through bad days.

[Evan]

lotus exige!
which is why my stupid ass bought one.

although when i think of the term 'unicorn' car, i think of it more as a car that isnt necessarily exotic or expensive, just with unique qualities combined with rare and hard to find.
for me that car was the 97-98 240sx. I searched for years for a reasonably priced one (in 5sp) and never found anything.

[G.Irish]

F355, I dont know why its my unicorn car but it is. Maintenance is horrendous (have to pull the engine to do the 30k mile service). But its the most beautiful Ferrari in my eyes. Yes the 430 is beautiful too forr what it is, but its not a classic. I think the 458 is pukeworthy. I discussed ownership with Ferrari of Washington, and they suggest 360/430s are better with maintenance; but I dont care (and probably out of my price range if newer; hell all of them are out of my price range right now :lol: ). If I were to get out of racing, I would save for a few years and get one and have a pos sedan or truck to get me through bad days.

Wow, I would definitely avoid the 355. It is the first of the "maybe-we-should-make-a-somewhat-reliable-supercar" mindset from Ferrari. But at the same time I kinda have a soft spot for that car, especially the 355 Challenge car.

For me if I ever spring for a F-car the 360 would be first on my list. The 430 doesn't really do it for me and the 458 is still way too expensive. 360's are almost in range on price.

But, before the 360 I might have to get an NSX. I was kinda stale on the idea for a long time, but then I saw some stroker kits for it (yesterday) and my NSX hard-on came back full-strength, which partially inspired this post.

[G.Irish]

lotus exige!
which is why my stupid ass bought one.

I still can't believe the insane deal you got on that car. To this day I still haven't seen an Exige for that price.

Sometimes I think about the Exige with a K20 swap, but to date there aren't any good kits to do the swap. Maybe one day.

for me that car was the 97-98 240sx. I searched for years for a reasonably priced one (in 5sp) and never found anything.

Haha, there are no nice 240's of any year left in America.

[SlimKlim]

What I think of as my personal unicorn is a car I'd love to build but I don't know if it will ever really be in the cards. Especially because they are getting older faster than I'm getting richer. BUT. I'd like a 2000-2001 BMW 740i optioned with the sport package and short wheelbase in Graphite Gray. Then I'd tear the whole damn thing apart, put in a freshly assembled LS1, gently supercharged for a top number ~600hp, obviously a 6spd manual to go along with it.

I'd clean the car up and make it perfect, bring it into this decade with an OEM style aftermarket nav system (there are units based on android so I could probably figure out how to make it display stats from the car like a set of aux gauges). I'd take out the seats and refinish them Cinnamon, do a suede headliner, pedal covers, and all the other interior bling.

IDK why but I've always wanted a car with a "fast button." So I'd fab a "dual" exhaust that actually had a very, very baffled muffler on one side, and a very unbaffled one on the other, with a cutout valve between them. Then I'd have the car mapped to two different tunes. So I could cruise around all day in the upper ~400hp range with a car that sounded like a vacuum cleaner, but when I hit the go-button shit would get real, real quick.

Outside, I wouldn't change a damn thing except some suspension and maybe some brakes to cope with all the extra go juice, but I'd probably run a good adjustable coilover so it'd be about 1/2in lower than stock. It'd take a keen eye to spot the exhaust tips or the manual shifter inside to indicate it wasn't just another old luxo-barge.

Its got all the things I dream about, part Transporter, an LSx in a car that didnt come with it (life goal on its own), a fast button, a highway dominator, and timeless style. The only downside is it'd probably cost $45k and you'd never ever see the money again.

[CaptainHenreh]

FD

[JustinG]

White on Black, 07+ Aston Martin DBS Coupe. Reason: Look at the thing, its a work of freaking art. Arguably the most attractive car ever in the entire universe, like most modern Astons. I dont know why but these cars just do it for me, not the fastest or the lightest, but man......

[Sully]

My awd unicorn would be an R34 skyline but there are so many other options for unicorn cars that I don't even know where to start. Probably with a '67 GT500 with a supercharged 427 cobra jet

Edit: 428 cobra jet because of what's pointed out below or maybe 427 side oiler :twisted:

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[Apoc]

My problem isn't that the car(s) I want don't exist, it's that they're $80k.

[JustinG]

My problem isn't that the car(s) I want don't exist, it's that they're $80k.

What he said

[D_Eclipse9916]

My problem isn't that the car(s) I want don't exist, it's that they're $80k.

+ eleventy bajlilion

[fiveoh2go]

My awd unicorn would be an R34 skyline but there are so many other options for unicorn cars that I don't even know where to start. Probably with a '67 GT500 with a supercharged 427 cobra jet

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Those are two different engines, even though they're both in the FE engine family.

427 Side Oiler = High RPM power - used mostly in Cobras, GT40's, and Nascar
428 Cobra Jet = Low end torque - used mostly in high performance, high volume street cars



My unicorn car is probably a '70 Boss 302 in Grabber Orange.

[WRXtranceformed]

White on Black, 07+ Aston Martin DBS Coupe. Reason: Look at the thing, its a work of freaking art. Arguably the most attractive car ever in the entire universe, like most modern Astons. I dont know why but these cars just do it for me, not the fastest or the lightest, but man......

What Justin said. I love this car so much I had Madden paint a picture of it for me, and it's sitting on the wall next to my master bath so I see it every single day.

My reasonably attainable unicorn car is a ZR1, although I feel like if I bought that car eventually I would not like it. I don't really have a reason why...I would just constantly be puzzled about why I spent $130k+ or whatever it is for a Chevy...until I hit the go pedal :lol:

There are plenty of hypercars I would want too but that's just too unrealistic. I have a feeling I'll probably settle for a moderately modded C6 Z06 in a couple of years...because I've always wanted one so bad.

[HAULN-SS]

A few cars on this list for me:

Something I could maybe afford someday:
F355
CTS-V
CLS 550
Maserati GT

I'm with lee on the Zr1, but I feel like that's too far out of reach. I also get it bad for the Ford GT

[ScottyB]

although when i think of the term 'unicorn' car, i think of it more as a car that isnt necessarily exotic or expensive, just with unique qualities combined with rare and hard to find

yeah, i'm sort of thinking this too. you have dream cars, then you have unicorn cars which i tend to think of as rare, hard to find versions of any type of car. i guess they can be the same thing in certain circumstances.

[Goodspeed]

I know what Goodspeed's is

Nope.



Also see:

My problem isn't that the car(s) I want don't exist, it's that they're $80k.

[CaptainHenreh]

Ariel Atoms aren't all that expensive. Just go buy one, goody. I bet you could get a discount.

[BLINGMW]

Yup that BRZ is pretty close. I don't think it's much of an exercise to say "here's what I'd buy price be damned", because then, sure, Ferrari or Porsche super-awesomemobile! But I can say that if the BRZ was diesel and 25k-ish, I would be "forced" to buy one. Heck, if BMW would just sell a 120d, I would think about that too, though it's still too fancy, pricey. I wouldn't spend more than that on a car, get myself back into a car loan unless I was making a LOT more $$.

[Jewels]

I know what Goodspeed's is

Nope.



Also see:

My problem isn't that the car(s) I want don't exist, it's that they're $80k.

Yeah Goody, My co-worker's daughters boyfriend is Mark who runs the plant down at VIR. They've been selling the racecars all over the place. Even have a Spec Ariel Atom series.