This is the most appealing thing fitting that description on my local Craigslist right now. 2009 Clubman JCW. It wouldn’t be as fun as a BRZ at an autocross (and would probably require the mother of all rear sway bars to get it to handle like my Cooper at autocrosses) but it would be more comfortable on the street. With 210hp and the JCW brakes it would probably be pretty fun on a track (I believe those brakes are ducted too which would address the overheating issues I have with my Cooper).
Of course I still want the BRZ more but if my dad buys some kind of RWD drift car or rally car that I get access to I could see myself considering something like this as a daily. He does have a point about a BRZ being stupid expensive for a 22 year old male to insure, even with no accidents on my record. This does tick a lot of the boxes a BRZ would but with more power (yay!) and less RWD (boo!). Having a RWD hoon-mobile in the family would probably scratch that RWD itch for me.
With the Cooper’s transmission rapidly deteriorating (we can add a completely knackered input shaft bearing to the list of things wrong with that transmission) the need for a newer car is becoming more urgent and I would very much like to avoid having to drive some automatic torture box for a year.
My Dad’s input into this whole situation has been strange. He’s trying to talk me out of a BRZ due to their cost and RWD not being good in VT winters but yet his suggestion last night was a $3,500 Infinity G35 drift car with your typical drift car damage listed on the North East Drift Co. Facebook page. I had to remind him that daily drivers have social obligations and that while women often aren’t interested in cars, they do notice if you show up at their house in a complete pile.
Anyway, that’s enough of a ramble, here’s the Craigslist link if you guys want to check it out: