I'm new here obviously but have been curious about the Lotus 7 and related cars for years. I currently drive a BMW M3 Lightweight which is primarily a track car that is street driven up to 120 miles to various tracks. I'm an advanced driver and with the suspension mods and track tires on the car I can keep up with some of the Lotus 7's on our local tracks. I'm considering replacing the M3 with a Lotus 7. A few questions:
1. How reliable is a Lotus 7 type car going to be compared to the M3?
2. What are the various pluses and minuses of the Lotus 7 cars from the various manufacturers?
3. How difficult would it be to register the car in CA under SB100, if the car comes from another state?
4. Is it inadvisable to street drive such a car 120 miles, as compared to the heated, wind sealed interior of the M3? That is, am I going to end up wanting to tow the car to the the track?
5. For a budget of $25,000, including any track prep including a roll cage, what kind of car should I look for, and what could I afford to build from a kit?
Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated.
