Best Sportscars Under 55 Lacs
The budget might have pulled the ultimate tease on import duty, but what's a couple of lacs for something shiny, low and red? The Nissan 370Z, Audi TT, Mercedes SLK and FHM's favourite, the Porsche Boxster.
The budget might have pulled the ultimate tease when it comes to import duty – but what’s a couple of lacs here and there for something shiny, precariously low and fabulously red?
Nissan 370Z – Rs 54,50,000*
While it costs a small fortune, the 370Z is a surprisingly frugal guzzler. The car comes with a powerful 7-speed automatic transmission, there are of course the paddle shifters behind the steering – but be warned the Nissan isn’t too happy about letting go. Drive just a tad bit out of the rev range and the 3.7 ltr engine reclaims control.
The all aluminum door-panels, hatch and hood mean the car is close to 300 pounds lighter than its predecessors. The overall design is nothing short of path breaking, even though it means you’d be walking around like an eight-month pregnant woman when you emerge out of it, plus for some strange reason there is something phenomenally metrosexual (read chica) about it. But hey – Who cares when it can do 100 kmph runs in 5.1 secs and have a top speed of 250?
Now if only someone got rid of those cows, pedestrians, trucks, jugaads…
Audi TT – Rs 46,00,000
The predecessor was radical but flawed. With the TT, Audi found its sweet spot. A car with both purpose and mass appeal, it combines the luxury of a sedan with the functionality of a coupe. Much like the 370Z the TT too is a tad bit too metrosexual for us at FHM. Maybe we’re Mustang fans – or then again maybe we like Porsche better – the ’90s Porsches.
Mercedes SLK – Rs 48,41,260
Introduced as an answer to the BMW Z3 and the Porsche Boxster, the SLK saga spanned near nine years, before being sent back to the drawing board for revamping in 2007. Four years later, the cute SLK has been replaced with something way more aggressive. The SLK imitates the Mercedes McLaren SLR road car, which is hand-built in conjunction with the McLaren Formula 1 team.
FHM fav: Porsche Boxster – Rs 43,56,000
When it debuted in India half a decade ago, the Boxster ushered in an era of the more affordable Porsche convertibles. Featuring a finely balanced mid-engine layout, sublime handling and steering, and the performance of a proven, flat-6 engine so sophisticated it’s just one bow tie short of showing up at the Oscars. This is the dream machine. P.S. If you folks at Porsche are reading this – we’re not doing anything next weekend if you want us to take it out for a spin.
From the April 2011 issue of FHM India.
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