Okay, so Im a 19 year old female car lover who wants to try Targa, just for fun. I'm doing an automotive course for 6 months to learn a bit more about doing up my own car before university starts next year. What would you guys recommend as a car to do Targa in. I don't really want to spend too much, and my plan would be to buy something thats cheap and probably a bit rough then do it up and take it out to race. I don't want to be too serious about it (law and commerce double degree isn't going to give me much time for the next 5 years! eeep!) and I'm not driving to win - just as a bit of a hobby to experience another side of the car world. Bit of a novel there, sorry, but any help will be muchly appreciated =)
berg,
May 12, 1:04pm
my pick would be a Civic or a Corolla hatch (or in my case a Swift Sport) being something cheap that you can thrash the wheels off all day without worring too much about mechanical issues. Look into the Tara pricing though as it is quite expensive. A good way to start is the Targa Tour which gets you on the closed roads but with a lead car to set a reasonable pace.
thegravelracer,
May 12, 1:04pm
well a bottom end car you could pick up for 3-4 grand with a cage ect in it all depending on what you want.You could also compete in gravel sprints in a cheapish build contact your local car club to find events near you
audi_s_ate,
May 12, 1:08pm
Not a cheap sport to compete in - especially as a student. I can't imagine you having change from $15 - $20k to be in a few events. The autocross type course in wellington would be an ideal stepping stone into full on targa as well as being significantly less expensive. I would recommend a type r integra as a first car if you wanted to do it yourself, purely from a cost/reliability perspective. Otherwise a fully built/caged car would be the cheapest to go for if you have the money.
macaroni.pony,
May 12, 1:09pm
Thanks guys =) Whats gravel sprints!
skully13,
May 12, 1:56pm
Buying the car is the cheap part, running it is where all the money goes. But it sure is a hell of a fun way to spend money.
foxdonut,
May 12, 2:06pm
First thing that came to my mind too. A Civvy is cheap enough to make improvements on without having to spend big coin.
NZTarga seems really expensive to me too. Practically FIA spec cars by the looks of some of the rules.
Co-driving is probably the place to start. There are people who have studied and competed at the same time.
pollymay,
May 12, 2:42pm
Gravel sprints FTW. Some of the driving displayed by these small clubs puts Targa to shame especially the classic rwd cars. I did it for years and have been off for a couple years and am taking a 300hp fwd to the forest this year, and yes fwd can get very sideways, ask the last owner. I want to take out my class at some point cause I missed out a couple years back to a broken CV
socram,
May 12, 3:41pm
I certainly couldn't afford Targa, so as posted earlier, I can't see anyone doing it for much less than $10,000 either.Haved you checked out the entry fee!
twink19,
May 12, 4:45pm
entry fee for Rotoruatarga is $2000 + gstplus you have to have Hans device and a gps tracking system at $300+ the mobile rental charge to use it
sr2,
May 12, 5:43pm
After 15 years of preparing and running Targa cars I??
skyline_guy_r34,
May 12, 5:49pm
I see your in auckland area. I would recommend just buying a cheap car with a bit of power, say a manual 300zx NA. And going to track days at pukekohe and hampton downs when they pop up. Cost is around $150-$250 depending on whos running the days. And you can use road cars so no limits on what you take there.
You'll have a bucket load of fun, and keep the costs right down.
peril787b1,
May 12, 6:19pm
Thanks SR2, you're one of the few that remembers the service crews. To Macaroni.Pony, don't think about Targa as an entry event, although it is a brilliantly run event, it is cost prohibitive.You'll need a reliable car, that is set up very well for a huge array of conditions.Better option is a basic track car, build your skills and once you've completed your law degree and practised for a number of years, then think about Targa. If you look at the entry lists for Targa, most are professionals, doctors, lawyers, CEO's, etc (there is a reason behind that).
racetoy,
May 13, 9:48am
toyota mr2 or 20valve levin good start cars
centec,
May 13, 11:07am
Entry fee = Student loan maybe!
johnf_456,
May 13, 11:26am
Good cars those old hacks
kcf,
May 13, 11:55am
the best car to get into motorsport cheaply, is a car somebody else has sunk a lot of money into, and then got bored.
There are a bunch of nicely priced cars that can be purchased for half the cost of building one yourself.
This is based on the assumption that you want to race a car, rather than you wanting to build a car :-)
Targa is an event for "Managing Directors" rather than students.It's an event that has a lot of miles, so a lot of prep, cost, and quite possibly a lot of repairs.I'd suggest start off with some club events, and see where your passion lies.
macaroni.pony,
May 13, 2:11pm
Cool thanks guys! Always knew it wouldn't be a cheap experience and its not something I'm looking to rush into :) Everything said in here will definately be taken into consideration :)
serf407,
Feb 14, 2:08am
Karting is another form of motorsport to consider. The top levels are very competitive with data logging etc.
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