Best Grand Touring Cars

[AngliaGT]

Cheap......Initially!

- Doug

 

[Bret]

& for some reason this... (and can be had cheap)

Theres a reason they're cheap. Besides it's got four doors - not a GT. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

 

[billspohn]

Glad to see the Interceptor made the list, but no surprise that the earlier CV-8 didn't. No one ever seems to remember them, perhaps because they made so few. With a 700 lb. weight advantage over the Interceptor, the C-8 was the fastest 4 seater in existence in the mid 60s and fits the GT label even better than the Interceptor.

The other car I'd add, probably because I own it, and it is also of very limited production, was the Lamborghini 400 GT. Four wheel discs, all independent suspension, 4 cam V12 with more power than the competition, it was another great GT car, whether in the earlier versions or in the Islero model I own.

BTW, I have jumped into my Interceptor and driven 1100 miles in one shot (Tahoe to Vancouver BC), stopping only for gas, in around 14 hours straight. That's what I call a great GT car.

The MGC is a nice touring car, but not really in the same class as these.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Theres a reason they're cheap. Besides it's got four doors - not a GT. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

My bad....
A saloon then?...Right?

Of course anything with roll up windows or a heater is a GT as far as I'm concerned....Like an Elise /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
Oh wait...It has air...*gasp*

This also makes a Europa a GT (& a Elan)
And a MGA
A 100-4
A TR3
Blasphemy you say?...

So what is a Race car?... Sport Racer?....A Club racer?....A Sport Car?...GT...Saloon.

Can of worms? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

I've never had a satisfying answer regarding the distinction between them all.
And it's hard to call a TVR Griffith 400 a GT or a Berkeley a club racer.

But a Lotus 11 is a real sport racer and the 23 is a real race car while the 7 is a club racer.
(since a club racer is a car with an optional heater while a sport car has the option to come w/o it)

So I guess the Elite is a real sport car & the Elan is a GT
So do GTs only have 2 doors?

 

[tony barnhill]

Boy, has this thread wandered!!!

 

[bugimike]

Boy, has this thread wandered!!!

"Grand Touring"... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

 

[Deleted member 3577]

The sport car has pretty much disappeared in today's world.

If I wanted to buy something 'frisky' at a local dealer...
About the best I could do now days is...

An Elise, NSX, Viper, S2000, Miata

And they are all clearly GTs

 

[Bret]

An Elise, NSX, Viper, S2000, Miata

And they are all clearly GTs

Interesting nominees. But I’m not sure I’d call any of them GTs.

Maybe a Viper GTS Coupe but ignoring the two rear seats rule – I’ve always thought Vipers where a bit brutish and kind of too raw to be considered remotely luxurious.

Not sure about the Elise either as I'd always thought they where a bit too Spartan. Ignoring that – the fact that it’s a mid-engine four banger, is also another thing that makes it a square peg trying to fit into a round GT slot. It is for this same reasoning that I’ve decided to remove one of my earlier nominations – the Europa.

Miata MX-5 – sorry but while it’s appointed as well as any early GT (as most cars today are) – I have a hard time seeing it as anything other than a sports car. The three points against it for me – again it’s a drop top, it’s only got a four banger and to a lesser degree it doesn’t have the tiny rear seats.

The S2000 is a great enthusiasts “sports car” but it’s not remotely GT-ish in my view. There’s just something magical about a car that can rev to 8000 plus RPMs – so for that I give them all sorts of praise. But for some of the same reasons I wouldn’t call any of the others above “GTs” – it just doesn’t fit the bill IMO and I’m not sure I could live with it for everyday street & commuter use.

 

[bugimike]

I didn't want to read the whole thread again to see if anyone has mentioned them, but as far as older GTs, how about the Datsun 240-280s and/or the Volvo P1800s as practical/affordable GTs?

 

[Bret]

The Datsun 240, 260 & 280Z’s would certainly seem to meet the general criteria for a GT. But not so much for the US models until they started dropping 5-speeds in them. More so the 280ZX with the 2+2 seating. Potent inline 6 and down right dangerous with the addition of the Turbo in the later models.

My mother had 280Z back in the day and while I loved the car I didn’t think it was all that great comfort-wise on long drives.

Don’t know much about the P1800 other than what I’ve seen & read on paper (internet) but it would seem to have some limitations to be a true “Grand” Tourer.

 

[vagt6]

Glad you mentioned the P1800S. I've always liked them. A friend owned one when I was in college, I've spent many a mile in the car.

Very comfy ride with a plush interior. Underpowered, as most all old Volvos, but a nice tourer with OD.

There always seems to be a nice one or two on eBay, usually reasonable prices.

I'd love to have one. Maybe someday . . . /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/driving.gif

 

[bugimike]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif Me too! I especially like the hatch-back version (ES I think!)! Definitly with the OD to be a Grand Tourer. Other than the somewhat anemic power, it fits the GT formula to a "T"!!

 

[Bret]

P1800 a Tourer? Sure in spades. But a “GRAND” Tourer? Not in my book.

As agreed to already most of us feel a true GT should have the following;

torque (& the Horse Power to maintain "high speed" without having to worry about rattleing out ones fillings)
exceptional performance (& handling)
comfort (I say luxurious)
cover large distances very quickly (and arrive in fresh as a daisy)
coupe with seating 2 or at the most a 2+2
luggage enough for a weekend get-away for 2

Remember most (at least in my view) true GTs where designed that way from the ground up. I have a problem with the notion that the simple addition of an O/D is the difference between an affordable entry level Tourer and a full blown GT.

Going back to my Mustang example - while some would argue that the more expensive GT is a "Grand Tourer" and ignoring the horrible handling they'd have a case. But with several lesser variants of the same platform I think the Mustang as a whole falls short.

 

[JPSmit]

My mother had 280Z back in the day and while I loved the car I didn’t think it was all that great comfort-wise on long drives.

Don’t know much about the P1800 other than what I’ve seen & read on paper (internet) but it would seem to have some limitations to be a true “Grand” Tourer.

Without passing judgment on either car, I do feel like all our opinions need to be considered in the context of the time in which they were built. My Midget is a POC by every modern standard and frankly most 1976 standards. It can't be compared to a Miata: apples to apples. The 1800 was a hot car for its time as were the Zs. Part of the challenge we are all having is that virtually any car can currently do what a GT was designed to do - in reality, a Kia could accomplish the criteria not because is is unique but because the current standard for all cars is high. Real GTs belong to a time when that wasn't true. my ongoing 2 cents /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif

 

[Deleted member 3577]

I do feel like all our opinions need to be considered in the context of the time in which they were built.

Yes...That's probably the correct perspective.

Except, I can't help making fun of sport cars w/ radios...
And 'GTs' with slush boxes.

Regardless of when they were built /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif

Some things are just WRONG.
Like a Elise w/ air! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif

 

[bugimike]

Hey, I thought part of the exercise was cost! If all the criteria Bret listed above are to apply, just look at about half a dozen fine Italian machines!! After all who coined "Grand Tourisimo" as a class of car? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Boy that has to be a noisy room....

A bunch of open exhaust Ferraris driving over a floor covered with cymbals

 

[DrEntropy]

*snork* lends credence to the term "Crescendo".

I especially like th' one with th' three holes in th' nose.

 

[maynard]

Sexy, affordable, semi unique, and a real eye turner-

A facelift, 6.0l, V12 Jaguar XJS

 

[Team_Sprite]

I have always liked the 70's BMW 3.0 CS. Is there something wrong with them?

Brian