What's the worst sports car you've ever owned?
 

We, for the most part love our Aston's. Most likely we've loved many sports cars over the years but there is bound to be one that sucked, was a piece of junk.

Mine was a '73 Jensen-Healey, I know I'm dating myself here. I opted for the Jensen, passing on an Alfa Romeo Sypder at the time. The car was bright red, I succumbed to the lotus engine, clean lines and for the time very good performance. Well, it was the beginning of the end as soon as I got it. Engine overheated within minutes, always, gearbox was a mess, door handles and window winders fell off, top leaked like a sieve, suspension was a pile of junk.... Gone in 4 months for BMW 2002tii.

from what I understand, if you own a british sports car and the steering wheel doesn't come off in your hand whilst driving at high speed...you got one of the better built ones.

i had a '93 Mazda RX7 (twin-turbo, FD chassis) that was fantastic to drive... but what a temperamental little b* of a car. if you looked at it wrong, it'd throw a tantrum and something would go wrong.

C5 Vette... Plastic and ponderous.

My sports car history:
74 Fiat X 1/9 (first car)
77 Lancia Scorpion
85 Toyota MR2
94 Mazda RX 7 Twin Turbo
98 Corvette Convertible
2002 Porsche Carrera
2006 Porsche Boxster S
2008 Audi R8
2007 Aston V8 Vantage
2013 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S six speed manual. Still own.
1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce (round tail). Just restored.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...b2f5a3f1d.jpeg

VW Corrado, if that qualifies. Looking back I really should have had it lemoned.

1987 lotus espirit... when it ran it was fun, but it was on a flat bed more then I got to drive it...

'01 Audi TT 225. While I can't say it was a bad car (usual Audi build quality, great style, great winter car) it was truly an uninspiring drive: dull, droning engine, no steering feel, don't rush me transmission, and would sir like understeer or understeer?

On the other hand I have only the fondest memories of my '93 Corrado!

'84 Corvette--Rock-Hard riding (even though I had the standard suspension). Had it in the shop at least 6-times because the transmission would slam out of 2nd gear during hard acceleration. Red Paint turned to Purple. Carpet under back window disintegrated. Rear frame broke on the driver's side and had to be re-welded. Drivers window fell down inside door and they wouldn't replace the belt that drove the window--chevy had a re-design and the whole mechanism had to be replaced. Only the transmission was covered under warrantee. The Lexan Top split from the windshield to the back. First time it was replaced under warrantee, second time it was not.

I had one of those. May be the most dangerous car that I have ever owned. I bought mine at a Police auction on Halloween and was the only bidder. I should have known. I wiped out 2-3 times on peoples front lawns and lost my license by spring. I owned that car for 10 months and it cost me more in that time than my V12 with insurance, tickets and legal fees. Still, it was really cool. Even with all of that, the worst car that I have ever owned was a cayenne TT. I know it's not a traditional sports car but it did have 450 HP. It was the first year and I had it in the shop 10 times in one year. In fact I logged more miles on demos than my own car. It was so bad that no one would take it for a trade. I had a broker take it to auction.

I have two. The worst experience I have ever had with any car was my 2009 Porsche C4 997.2 Cabriolet. I still get angry thinking about that car (you can read all about it here: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...long-post.html)

The other one was one of the very first car I ever had, a 1972 Plymouth Volare (the car was older than I was at the time). I got it in HS and both reverse and 4th gear went out on it within the 1st year. Starting it up looked created a smoke screen comparable to what you might see from the Batmobile. I ultimately flipped it over a fire hydrant due to the brakes locking up on ice as I slowed down to turn into my driveway . . . stunningly, I walked away (by crawling out the broken back windshield).

Interestingly, none of that bothered me at the time . . . it was a $500 car. It was meant to be a POS! LOL

Now, for my $110K Porsche on the other hand, that one was supposed to be bulletproof (sigh).

asc mcclaren, good for burn outs and doughnuts, top shakey speed 125 mph

typical usa junk.

Sunbeam Alpine.
 

I inherited a Sunbeam Alpine from my stepfather when I was 20 and I had to drive it from the SF Bay area up to Coeur d'Alene ID in December. The drivers seat was mostly worn out. One butt cheek would sink into the center while the other would be putting all of your weight, quite uncomfortably, on the metal frame. There was no way to sit on it that didn’t end up with your pelvis at an odd angle. You sat 1/2 way "in" the seat. At least until I stole a few phone books and jammed them in underneath the seat.

The car had no passenger side window in the door, and the zipper on the rear window of the convertible top was torn on the passenger side as well. The steering wheel felt like it was connected to the front rack with a bunch of old socks. There was lots of play before things actually started doing what you asked. It also still ran a generator instead of an alternator, and was cursed with full Lucas wiring.

As soon as I hit Oregon it rained on me all the way to Seattle, and until I crossed the mountains heading east. I discovered that with the top up, and the tonneau cover over the passenger seat I was able to keep mostly dry.

About a year after making that trip I moved back to California in an 60's vintage VW Bug that was completely stuffed with all my worldly possessions. I was a much more comfortable ride, and I discovered if you really pack a Bug full (like, the passenger and back seats have stuff all the way up to your neck line so you can still see mostly out full) that the bug becomes a very, very quiet car inside. Quite easy to heat too.

I miss the Bug from time to time. I don't mess the Sunbeam at all.

My '07 DB9 Volante is, without a doubt, the single worst car I've ever had this misfortune of owning. It spends more time in the shop than in the road. The things that break on it are unending and disgraceful (for the company). I hate this car and would unload it if I was confident it wouldn't break down on a prospective buyer during a road test.

Hey Sub you may want to delete that post before you sell your car.

Not really a sports car but the worst car we have ever owned was a 2000 BMW 740IL. We bought the car over a decade ago right out of CPO warranty and I have never had such an unreliable POS in my life. Radiators (plastic end tanks), coolant overflow tanks (plastic), control arms, alternators (yes multiple), cam position sensors, MAF sensors, idler pulleys (plastic), and the list goes on and on! Thankfully I can work on my own cars, but the utter cost cutting in the engine bay of this car has scared me from ever trying another BMW again. It's a shame too, because the E38 is still in my opinion, the best looking and best driving land yacht ever made. This car could have been one of the greats but what's the point if it's reliability is worse than a 70's British car. After talking with friends it seems by BMW ownership wasn't out of the ordinary.

84 Fiero...if you can consider this thing a "sports car"

I would have to say my second car. A 1974 Triumph Spitfire. I owned it for six months and was able to drive for three, I affectionately called it the sh_t fire.
Let me see where to start, the car came with a bent drive shaft, which needed to be replaced. It took a month for the part to come over from England. The transmission had a chipped reverse gear so when backing up the car would hesitate or buck, that took two weeks to fix. Then the second gear synchronizer retaining ring broke and I lost second gear Synchro that took another two weeks to get the part. At that point I told them to put the transmission back in with wing nuts so they could take it out easier next time. The dealer installed the optional radio for me inproperly which burned the wiring harness all the way up to the firewall. The inside door handle broke off during the rainy season, so I have to roll down the window and open the door from the outside handle. It took another two weeks to get a door handle. The light switch on the dash broke and that they had in stock. Don't get me wrong being in high school I did love this car the girls loved it too but with all of 56 hp and all these problems I traded it in on a 1974 Mazda RX-3 and got money back on the deal because of the Mazda purchase program.
Ron

Many years ago I had an AWD, turbo Mitsubishi Eclipse. Mitsubishi had a beautiful car with impressive handling and a nice power band. The car was ahead of it's time as far as making the power band even and minimizing turbo lag (at the expense of a high rev range though). The relatively light weight, AWD and wishbone suspension at all 4 corners made for an impressive handler while still retaining a decently comfortable highway ride. The AWD also allowed this car to be a lot of fun in the snow.

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However, it was such an incredible piece of junk that it made the car very difficult to enjoy. It had electrical problems with the stereo, the sun roof, the charging system including a flakey alternator.

Mechanically, the car never stopped rattling. The suspension, sun roof, dash board and who knows what else would make a never ending symphony of annoying squeaks and clunks. The block was iron but it used aluminum heads, so naturally it would warp the heads. It suffered through various oil leaks which lead to multiple replacements of the timing belt. I don't know how they screwed up the clutch hydraulic system, but I had to replace a slave cylinder once. The car had notoriously weak crank bearings, leading to what is affectionately referred to as "crank walk". Luckily I didn't experience that. There were many seals that can fail around the rear of the car, any one of which will lead to a nice swimming pool in the spare tire well after a rain or snow melt.

These cars are really rare to see on the road these days for such a popular and relatively new car and I don't wonder why.

I was thinking the same thing :)

Triumph
 

My first car was a 1969 TRIUMPH GT6+. The build quality rivaled the "clever" engineering for not just being bad, but for a marked departure from sanity. It was though they some how forgot we helped them win the war. For those to young to remember, this car had a short stroke IL6 derived from the TR6 with two underwhelming Zenith Strombergs, (which came, most likely, from a tractor or taxi) and was basically a spitfire with a hard top/hatchback. I can't begin to describe just how ludicrous the switches were designed, it is remarkable that they did not fail more quickly then they did, which was continual. The rear suspension defies description, it really must be seen to be believed, a rubber donut with cast yokes replacing the u joint on the outside end of the half shaft requiring the shocks to be mounted to the body. Seeing it is truly a WTF moment. (this is a car with a full frame, not unibody) The Leacock DeNormanville electric overdrive is the best example of where their heads were at and speaks alot about the British car industry at that time. It was the only car I have owned that modeled such unreal consistency throughout every system and material used, i.e. extremely poor. I have had alfas with gear that seemed robust in comparison. The benefit is, naturally, everything is better than that car, and prepared me for the many e-types I have owned. I rationalized many a car purchased (including my AM), with "It can't be any worse than the Triumph.."

My least favorite was a 2004 Terminator Cobra. It wasn't that it broke down, it was just a poorly designed car. Seats sucked and the shifter was basically in the console. What the hell was up with that, Ford?

Gt6+
 

My first car was also a '69 Triumph GT6+. There were times when it was such a rush to drive, with that straight six pulling like a team of stagecoach horses up front. But...I still remember 40 years later...replacing the clutch after pulling the gearbox out through the passenger door, discovering along the way that the hump was made of some kind of cardboard. I remember the challenge keeping the windows from fogging up in the rain because there was always water on the INSIDE of the car. I remember the impossible heat build up on hot days as the bulkhead felt like hell itself was on the other side of an eighth-inch of tin. I remember explaining to a date that I'd only just replaced the water pump a couple of weeks ago, so I have no idea why it failed. I remember...

1972 (I think) MG midget... Tons of fun when it worked, which was rare.

I have to say a toss-up between my 62 MGB and my 69 TR6. Both great fun but next to impossible to keep running!

93 911, worse piece of junk, leaked oil ALL the time. Engine rebuilt at 10k miles and again at 12k (Bad rebuild, not cars fault). A/C worked in winter, rarely in summer (lived in Fla). Seat cover on driver side split and a bunch of little things that I do not remember.

2 happiest days, day I bought it and day I sold it.

That's funny you say that. I liked my 2003 Cobra more than my 2005 DB9.

Well it is good to know that by the time my 1974 Spitfire was produced, not much had changed. I do know that they redesign the rear suspension I believe in 1973, so my car handled very well. My car did not have the optional overdrive and I remember on the highway wishing that I had it. Like others have said, on a sunny day with the top down it was a fun little car for the six months that I owned it and the three months I was able to drive it. Funny enough my 65 E -type that I've had for 12 years has never let me down mechanically, true I drive it sparingly and only in good weather.
Ron

The worst car I have ever owned was a 1975 Corvette. In the first 6 months I owned it was in my possession less than 6 weeks. All 4,fenders had to be reseamed and repainted. The gas tank had a rubber liner and it collapsed when my wife was taking or son to emergency room. The car indicated a full tank but ran out of gas. One of the mechanics at the dealer sat down in the driver's seat with a screw driver in his back pocket. When the new seat skin came it wasn't a match so they ordered another. When it came they put the box on the hood of the car. The scratched hood now had to be repainted.

How about a tread on the best car you ever owned. My would be a Superformance Cobra. It was fast, beautiful,easy to work on and turned more heads than anything else I have ever owned.

Interesting there must be some link between owning a triumph GT6 as a first car and now owning an Aston. My first was a 71 gt6 but it I would never consider it the worst sports car I've owned. In fact despite having countless triumphs, a tiger,a Cobra replica, a Miata, a Mini and a Lotus Evora I really can't say any was bad. Like the pain from childbirth gets forgotten so does the roadside rebuilding of a half shaft u-joint or billowing smoke coming from behind the dash as you drive gets forgotten as soon as you get on a twisty back road. If I had to pick my most undependable car it clearly was a 94 Jag XJS Which its first 2 yrs was in the shop over 40 times. I virtually never had to wash or vacuum it because the dealer did with every service. Thankfully It was new and under warranty and I only had it 2 yrs

Sports car? Kind of... In 1999 I had an unrestored 1967 Camaro Convertible. The tired old 327 could only spin the tires in wet grass. If it rained, you were getting wet. If you took the top down be ready to catch little bits of rust from the windshield frame. I should have kept it and restored it, an all original 67 convertible is worth a decent penny. But of course I was dumb and traded for some kind of go fast that didn't last me a year.

'70 Fiat 124 Spyder from a friend of my Dad's. I was 16. Drive it 1/2 mile before the timing belt disintegrated. It was then Italian scrap metal.

Oh, forgot about my 81 X1/9, those engines were good for 40k miles, damn good looking car, but it was poorly engineered. Had it 3 months, drove it off the showroom floor and had to have it towed back, not really sure how long it was actually in my possession, but it was not more than a week or two.

Porsche 928 S4. Absolute horrendous electronics reliability and paper mache interior plastics.

For two weeks it was the 07 V8 Vantage
 

I bought it new in Palm Desert. Drove it home to Monterey. In that short drive 11 different items either fell off or loosened up. After 40 years of driving Porsches mainly Turbos I thought I had died and gone to car hell.
After a long letter to the then CEO of AM USA they gave me a 5 year unltd mileage warranty. The car was bullet proof after that. Maybe a Friday build?

WTF is an understatement :eek: Somebody got really drunk the night before they designed this.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...1c397bdacb.jpg

That's impressive in its absurdity hilarious

Pontiac Fiero.. Oh yeah.. I tapped that!

lol my first car was a 124 sport spider, it was a pos but fun to drive when it was running. i learned everything i know about working on cars with that one.

Being one of the older members of this forum, I have owned a remarkable collection of cars.
Except for the 1997 Suzuki X-90 that I bought as a joke (and to teach my son the skills of a standard transmission) I have never owned a car that couldn't perform as expected.
That list includes:
eleven 911s from 1972 to 2008
Two Boxster Ss
Four Jaguar E-Types
Five vintage Ferraris including two Dinos and a GTC
BMW Z8, 3.0CSi
Alfa Spider-1974
Triumph TR4A and MGB-both better than you might think
Fiat X 1/9: actually this was a terrible car; body flex was unacceptable, paint flaked, etc
Current cars include a new 2015 R8 V8 with MT and of course my new 2014 Volcano Red V8V with MT. Both really perfect for this stage of my life.
I also have a new Macan S and new X5
The Fiat X 1/9 was really a miserable piece of junk

Oh boy Larry, what a cool list of cars. My dad owned a 330 GTC (that l leaned to drive on). What a great car, he bought it in 1970 from the original owner for $10,500. When he sold it in 1975 it was for the same amount. He also had a Dino on order when they were first announced in 1971, the price was $14,000, by the time the car actually came in it was $18,000. Sadly he passed on it because it would have been an additional $8500 over what they offered him for his 330 on trade. How I wish that I still owned his 330 today. Alter he sold the 330, he purchased one of the last 1974 2000 ALFA spiders that the dealer had on his lot. He keeped the ALFA for 4 years. He also owned two Jaguar E-Type FHC's new.One a 3.8, the other a 4.2. I was able to buy a 1965 E-Type FHC for myself back in 2003. I have fully restored it, and still have it today.
Ron