Hi Clive, nice to see you're still around!

I guess you weren't that enamoured of your Stratos, from what you're saying...I get that, because they were never designed for regular, ordinary use, but for motorsport, so any considerations of "habitability" never came into it. They'll always demand a lot from a driver/owner, because that's their nature; and if it's too much like hard work, then you can go for "regular" classics. And yes, there are some wonderful inexpensive classics out there that we all love (lost count of how many Fulvias I've had, including a 1600 Zagato and a RHD Fanalone, and only last year sold my "modern" 124 Spider). But as for cost, well, the cost of a particular type of car has nothing to do with any rational set of guidelines. If it did, why would any Countach be worth what they are? Awkward to use, uncomfortable, can't even reverse one without sitting on the sill...No, people pay a lot of moolah for an exotic-looking car because of what it means to them, the feelings it can invoke, not based purely on practical considerations.

As for how a Strat rep drives, well, they're all different - they're all dependent on the build quality, the chassis design, and the suspension setup (all fully adjustable, so all capable of being totally crap if someone doesn't know what they're doing!)

The car discussed here is, as you say, incomplete, unregistered, and has no IVA, exactly as advertised. Why is that a bad thing? So is every kit that comes from a manufacturer. If it's not for you ("you" as in, any particular person), then that's fine, but it doesn't make it a bad buy for someone. It's still a lot cheaper than going to LB or Hawk and that's why it's not a bad price for a car you can finish yourself, even if it ultimately won't be as good a car as either of those. As someone recently said to me, yes you can get a ot of pleasure out of a different car for £17K, but nothing else looks like, or is, a Stratos, and that's what people want.

Anyhow, on with the show....