Original VW Beetles. Despite the fact that they’re an iconic car they’re actually not really thought of as anything other than the “iconic economy car”, and granted, their stock running gear is actually kinda shit. But the chassis makes an amazing base for dune buggy or off-road buggy builds.
Honestly, any lightweight, FWD car with a short wheelbase. That’s the formula that made the original Mini a rally champion.
V6 Accord from the mid 2000s. There’s a reason why this car is “the car for car enthusiasts who don’t want to be identified as car enthusiasts by their car”. The engine’s pretty solid and it’s a good chassis.
Skyline BNR32 GTS-T. This one’s notable mainly because it lives in the shadow of its vastly more popular bigger brother, the R32 GT-R. Thing is, the GT-R’s reputation as “a drift car” is actually completely undeserved, and the Skyline that actually earned this title is the GTS-T, as a lot of BNR32 Skylines used in competitive drifting are GTS-Ts with RB26DETT swaps and Nismo bodykits. The reason for this is that the GTS-T is significantly lighter and RWD rather than “technically” AWD (the “technically” is due to the fact that the GT-R switches between RWD and AWD modes based on the state of the rear wheels).
For the rotary guys, Mazda RX8. A lot of people overlook this thing simply because it’s a numbers downgrade after the RX7 FD. But what it loses in power it makes up for with probably the best weight balance and best handling of any Mazda rotary ever built. Just… don’t get the automatic version. I’m not just saying that because “manual better”, the automatic version redlines at 7000 RPM while the manual redlines at 9000 RPM, and you need to be able to bring it up to full revs every now and then to clear out carbon buildup. THIS is why automatic RX8s have so many engine issues that the manual ones don’t.
Base-model first-generation Lancia Delta. While they don’t have the absolutely insane performance of the Group B rally car, they’re still overall the same chassis.
I’ve got a couple to mention:
Original VW Beetles. Despite the fact that they’re an iconic car they’re actually not really thought of as anything other than the “iconic economy car”, and granted, their stock running gear is actually kinda shit. But the chassis makes an amazing base for dune buggy or off-road buggy builds.
Honestly, any lightweight, FWD car with a short wheelbase. That’s the formula that made the original Mini a rally champion.
V6 Accord from the mid 2000s. There’s a reason why this car is “the car for car enthusiasts who don’t want to be identified as car enthusiasts by their car”. The engine’s pretty solid and it’s a good chassis.
Skyline BNR32 GTS-T. This one’s notable mainly because it lives in the shadow of its vastly more popular bigger brother, the R32 GT-R. Thing is, the GT-R’s reputation as “a drift car” is actually completely undeserved, and the Skyline that actually earned this title is the GTS-T, as a lot of BNR32 Skylines used in competitive drifting are GTS-Ts with RB26DETT swaps and Nismo bodykits. The reason for this is that the GTS-T is significantly lighter and RWD rather than “technically” AWD (the “technically” is due to the fact that the GT-R switches between RWD and AWD modes based on the state of the rear wheels).
For the rotary guys, Mazda RX8. A lot of people overlook this thing simply because it’s a numbers downgrade after the RX7 FD. But what it loses in power it makes up for with probably the best weight balance and best handling of any Mazda rotary ever built. Just… don’t get the automatic version. I’m not just saying that because “manual better”, the automatic version redlines at 7000 RPM while the manual redlines at 9000 RPM, and you need to be able to bring it up to full revs every now and then to clear out carbon buildup. THIS is why automatic RX8s have so many engine issues that the manual ones don’t.
Base-model first-generation Lancia Delta. While they don’t have the absolutely insane performance of the Group B rally car, they’re still overall the same chassis.