Track Day Classics – Five of the Best

We had our first dusting of snow the other day and that can only mean one thing. Yep, winter is well and truly upon us. The colder weather brings with it many things: roaring fires, hot chocolate, beautiful frost-tinged mornings, nagging knee pain from that skiing tumble a few years ago… But perhaps most importantly, for us petrol heads at least, it also gives us time – time to work on our classics, or time to maybe take on a new project. It’s the perfect time of year, in fact, to start that track day build you’ve been promising yourself.

There are few better ways to spend a weekend than hooning around a race track in a classic car that you yourself have built and specced out and now is the ideal time to seek out your steed of choice and set to work transforming it into a go-kart for grown ups. Keep it road legal and drive to your track of choice or go full send and turn it into a proper racer. It’s entirely up to you but we can guarantee you’ll have a hell of a lot of fun whatever you decide. So channel your inner Ayrton Senna as we take a look at five of the best and most affordable track day classics.

Mazda MX-5

You knew it was going to be on the list, we knew it was going to be on the list and we knew that you knew it was going to be on the list. The Mazda MX-5 is perhaps the greatest of the bunch when it comes to cheap, capable track day cars. Incredibly fun to drive thanks to its light weight, rear-wheel-drive setup and balanced weight distribution, it is also a predictable wee fellow which doesn’t take a whole heap of experience to master. After just a few laps you’ll be dialled in and have the MX-5 eating out of the palm of your hand, all with a huge grin on your face. Arguably the perfect starter track day car an MX-5 can be picked up for peanuts and then immediately thrashed around a race track. Cheap eBay turbo optional.

Mini Cooper

The only front-wheel-drive car on the list (and that speaks volumes), Mini Coopers have been laying down rubber at race tracks up and down the country for decades and so the sheer depth of support, from parts to advice and everything in between, is substantial to say the least. Stick to the Rover Group models as these will be the cheapest, strip out the interior and go and have some fun. Minis are a joy to pilot at any speed and their renowned handling will have you outmanoeuvring much more powerful metal at the track in no time. Sure, they’ll smoke you on the straights but the twisties are way more fun and take way more skill to master. There’s no greater feeling than out-breaking a car with twice the power and then deftly slipping past on the outside of a bend.

Porsche 944

The Porsche 944 perennially pops up on track car lists for a reason. With near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, rear drive, sporty engines and that renowned German reliability the 944 is a solid choice when it comes to racing. There’s great parts support too so when you get a little too enthusiastic and end up backwards in an Armco barrier you can rest safe in the knowledge that the car will be healed more quickly than your bruised ego. Turbo cars will obviously provide more performance but any of the cheaper, normally aspirated four-bangers will still deliver the goods with aplomb as well as being easier to maintain.

MG Midget

As the old adage goes, it’s way more fun and engaging to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slowly, and we will stand by that statement until our last breath. There are a number of classic British fare that would make great track day cars, from Austin-Healey Sprites to Triumph TRs and Ford Escorts but we’ve gone with the MG Midget for our list. There are plenty of second hand race-spec Midgets out there as they are a popular entry-level choice when it comes to historic racing. Alternatively you can buy a stock car and set to work. They can be easily stripped down to feather weight and with a larger engine swap or tuned stock motor they will provide lap upon lap of thrills and spills for not a lot of bills.

Caterham 7

Yep, the most race car looking car on the list and probably the closest you’re going to get to feeling like a Formula One driver the Caterham 7 is a bona fide track day legend. This is two-seater, open top racing at its finest. You probably won’t be the only Caterham at the track but you’ll arguably be having more fun than most. Proclaimed by Caterham themselves as the ‘king of track days’ the 7 is not only an absolute hoot to drive but it is also inherently simple to work on. From as far back as 1973 there are myriad options to suit both your budget and performance requirements but whichever model you choose you can be sure of one thing and that’s a driving experience that’s as pure as the freshly driven snow we mentioned earlier.

Leave your ego behind. It’s not about who has the fastest car, or the most expensive, or who has the largest collection of trophies. Getting the most out of a track day is about having as much fun as possible and any of the cars on this list will allow you to do exactly that. They can all be found for well under £10,000, with the possible exception of the Caterham, and will potentially provide hundreds of hours of track time – crashes withstanding of course. But even then they can be repaired and modified, which is all part of the fun after all. So, slide over to the Car & Classic classifieds and auction listings, choose your weapon, have a read of our track day essentials article and get to work making those racing driver fantasies a reality.