Street-legal sensations | Six of the Best

The place where road cars stop and race cars begin has always been a bit of a grey area, especially when there’s homologation to think of. But one thing is for certain: cars with oversized motorsport influence, however intangible, are cool, and they tend to be spectacular to drive. So high time they were celebrated, right? Because while it’s a grey area, that space between road and race is also a generous one in terms of bandwidth. Take this F355 Challenge as an example: the one-make series used cars that were close to production spec, so much so that plenty have subsequently been converted for road use to create the Challenge Stradale 355 Ferrari never made. Or a more affordable GT Competizione. This one was a road car built to race spec, has competed in Ferrari Owners Club events and boasts ‘just enough civility to enjoy on your favourite B roads as well as on track.’ Sunday mornings will never be the same again. 

Call this the sublime to the ridiculous, perhaps. Subaru Imprezas have been modified almost since the first cars arrived from Japan, but this is no ordinary Turbo 2000. It’s a two-door Type R for one thing, just like the rally cars of the time. And there’s a full 22B widebody conversion with some adjustable aero, so it resembles a ‘properly developed competition machine rather than an aesthetic exercise’. Plus there’s the small matter of more than 750hp – in an Impreza! There’s more than 550hp offered from the 2.5-litre EJ flat four on super unleaded, with a peak of 763hp and 680lb ft available using ethanol. It’s enough for this Subaru to run down the quarter mile in 10.4 seconds, without slicks. Maybe not the obvious choice as a road-legal drag car, but all the cooler for it. Quick around a track, too…

For a more traditional take on the road racer, we had to have a 911 in. These days it can seem like more modified air-cooled cars exist than standard ones, because the old Porsches respond so well to a bit of optimisation. And, let’s be frank here, tend to look pretty damn cool when they’re styled a bit more classically. To lean into the motorsport and modifying heritage of 911s is popular for good reason. Potentially very time-consuming and expensive, yes, but who hasn’t dreamed of a honking great flat-six, yellow Cibie spotlights and a fancy set of Fuchs at one point or another? It just works. This 1981 3.0 SC was converted to a racier spec back in 2012 by the owner now selling, an overhaul that means brakes, interior, suspension, diff and tyres are all up to a serious track day standard. Apparently it’s been all over Europe as well. A proper old hot rod that would surely be a joy for years to come. All for less than any GT3 you care to mention.

Probably the ultimate homologation hero as far as touring cars go, many an E30 M3 has been converted for more serious track use over the past 40 years. They were little more than five grand once upon a time, remember. But as values have soared (and plenty of the modified cars biffed), so the sorted-for-circuit E30 M3 has become less common. That makes this DTM homage all the more interesting; not only does it look absolutely perfect – complete with gold BBS Super RS set just so – there are a few modifications to really make the best of a legendary platform. Check out the cage, seats and Yokohama Advans for hints of that. This has also been equipped with Bilstein dampers, braided brake hoses and a Milltek exhaust. While still modestly powerful, this M3 promises to make every mile on road – with an MOT until January – or track a riot. Bidding starts on Wednesday… 

Prior to the Emira and the EVs, every Lotus on sale felt like a road-legal race car to some extent. They were tricky to get in and out of, stripped of any excess, fast, lightweight – and thrilling to drive like little else. But some were extreme even by those standards, and as Lotus began to extract more power from the supercharged Toyota V6, so we saw more and more of them. Think 3-Eleven, the GT-badged Evoras, and this, the Exige Cup 430. The most powerful Exige that ever existed, there were hints of old school supercar about the Cup with its wild design, manual gearbox and unassisted steering. But the Lotus finesse, combined with formidable power to weight, made the Cup 430 searingly fast around a track as well. This one promises even more than standard, too, with the 475hp Komotec upgrade. There’s even a CarPlay head unit in the list of modifications – what more do you need? See you at Silverstone… 

Compared to a 10-second Subaru, a E30 M3 track car and a Lotus Exige with almost 500hp, an Aston Martin Vantage might look just a little bit tame. Just in case the Kermit Green accents hadn’t given it away, though, this is no ordinary Vantage. It’s a GT12, a hugely rare limited edition that stripped 100kg from the V12 Vantage, took the 5.9-litre engine to 600hp, and introduced a level of attitude never before seen on the baby Aston. And it wasn’t exactly mellow to start with. Every modification you’d want to see for a car originally called GT3 (before Porsche made a fuss) was here, from ceramic brakes to a titanium exhaust, carbon panels to totally overhauled suspension. Unsurprisingly, the end result was utterly glorious, the GT12 treading a neat path between road habitability and track prowess. It was wonderful wherever, put most simply. Which is why you’ll still need more than a quarter of a million for one…