So here goes the purchase story:
I have always been a fan of the straight six engine growing up seeing and following:
1) Straight SIx in the RB26/25 out of the legendary nissans.
2) Toyota 7mgte in the 3rd gen supra and later the 1jz and the 2jz six cylinder turbo beasts
3) Early bmw NA monsters in the e36 M3 (S50/52 and its american counterpart) and then the e46 m3 and its insane s54
The straight six is a unique motor that is smoother than a v6 and not as common as a v6, it is not as crazy a v8 on running cost so you can theoretically drive it every day. it is also a configuration that revs very high with smoothness unlike a v6.
To me the perfect modern day car would provide an experience similar to the early skyline GTRs and early chaser/supras with a manual gearbox and awd. these cars are now too expensive and new cars with this combo are rare, the perfect car to me was only a fever dream:
1) Newer m3's (f80) are too expensive to buy run and maintain. they are unstable in the winter with rwd and lose value if u pile on the miles.. they are not your one car for all solution...
2) 2007-2011 e90 chassis 335 with the n54 engine are possibly the most unreliable cars to exist, rarely have awd and the most common gearbox on them is dog poo. Shout out to the twin turbo setup on these which is similar to the og toyota twin turbo six (not sequential I know). Having driven a 335is owned by a friend I can attest to the extremely s##y quick revving nature of the engine with an insane smooth power delivery. the lightweight forged crankshaft makes the engine feel like an NA high revving ferrari v8 and the "a mule just kicked you in the rear" torquey feeling of an old school v8. I do love this motor too.... however the piezoelectric (read: unaffordium) injectors that go out often along and vacuum line nightmares are the final nail in the coffin, I could never buy one. BMW built a great crankshaft for their first turbo straight six..... just didn't do well with the rest of the motor around the forged crank... everything fails on these... I love the n54 but I also Hate the n54....
3) owned two n55 cars (the nice and reliable but stale successor to the n54 but its meh).. makes okay power, has pretty okay reliability but very coarse sounding engine, that revs up and down very slow and doesn't like high rpms (sounds like a old man grunting.. and drops off power in the top of the band ).. Honorable mention to the n55 in the bmw m2 which is not really a normal n55, its closer to a single turbo s55 (f80 m3 engine)
So the dream was dead,,,,, like many things in life unaffordable?