Full Throttle Talk

This week on Full Throttle Talk, Tim Harris, Blair Smith, and Shinoo Mapleton dive into one of the most fun debates we've had yet.

If you had just $20,000 to buy one car that must serve as your daily driver AND your fun car, what would you choose?

There are rules.

No EVs.
It has to be your only car.
And occasionally you need to haul around your 230-lb Great Mastiff named Matt.

Good luck with that.

But before we get there, we tackle some major automotive news — including rumors that GM may be preparing an American hypercar capable of 1,300–1,400 horsepower. If the speculation proves true, Corvette could soon be competing directly with the Ferrari F80, McLaren W1, and Lamborghini Revuelto.

Yes… really.

We also look at a strange automotive mystery:

Why didn’t more people buy the Lexus LC500?

It’s beautiful, sounds incredible, and was often $100,000 cheaper than a Porsche 911, yet the market largely ignored it.

Plus:

• What we each did in cars this week
• The cars quietly dying by 2027
• The best enthusiast cars under $20k
• Listener questions and commentary

If you love cars, car culture, and the business of enthusiasm, this is the show for you.

Buckle up.

Don’t just listen — stay ahead of the conversation.

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This week on Full Throttle Talk, the crew dives into one of the most debated questions in the automotive world:

Are electric vehicles actually the future… or the biggest scam ever pushed on car enthusiasts?

We break down the economics, the narratives, and what the shift toward EVs really means for people who love driving.

But that’s only the beginning.

We also discuss why legendary Porsche collector Magnus Walker is selling part of his collection — and whether this signals a broader shift happening in the collector car market.

This Episode Covers:

What We Did In Cars This Week

Blair spent the weekend with a Kei van… and ended up buying one.
He also drove a Ford Shelby GT500, proving once again that the best automotive experiences are often the most unexpected ones.

Automotive News

We discuss several developments shaking up the industry:

• The disappearance of the controversial start/stop button
• Plans for Caterham to expand in the United States
• Early looks at the fully electric Volkswagen Golf Mk9

And the bigger question behind it all:

What happens to driving culture if everything becomes electric?

It’s Time To Sell Your Car — Now What?

Eventually every enthusiast faces the same decision:

How do you sell a car the right way?

We break down the real pros and cons of:

• Consignment
• Wholesale to a dealer
• Selling privately
• Online auctions like Bring a Trailer

Including the hidden costs, misaligned incentives, and why some cars should never go to consignment.

This or That — Lotus Edition

We debate some Lotus models that could become the next collector breakouts.

Tim compares:

• Lotus Elise 340R
vs
• Lotus Exige S 260

Blair looks at:

• Lotus Esprit S4
vs
• Lotus Elan S4

Which of these could quietly become the next big collector cars?

Listener Question: The $300K Porsche Dilemma

A listener secured an allocation for a Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, but rising prices and tariffs are pushing the cost toward $300,000.

The dilemma:

Buy the GT3 Touring…

or buy a Carrera T, modify it, and keep six figures in the bank?

We break down the psychology of enthusiast purchases, regret math, and how to think about high-end car decisions.

If you love:

• Analog sports cars
• Collector car market insights
• Honest enthusiast conversations
• And smart automotive ownership decisions

This episode is for you.

Subscribe to Full Throttle Talk and join the conversation. 🚗🔥

This week on Full Throttle Talk, the crew dives into one of the biggest debates in modern enthusiast cars:

Has Porsche lost its way?

But first — things get wild.

Tim straps into the Blue Shock Race X5 kart, a machine built on a Tony Kart chassis producing 44 horsepower with four-wheel disc brakes. It’s closer to a race car than a kart… and it’s completely unhinged.

Then the conversation shifts to the biggest developments shaking the enthusiast car world:

• Ferrari changes the rules again with the 296 Speciale and rumored 296 CS
• The Corvette ZR1X performance numbers are emerging — and they’re borderline unbelievable
• BMW may add rear-biased AWD to the M2, raising questions about the future of driver-focused cars

And then we tackle the question enthusiasts everywhere are starting to ask:

Has Porsche lost its way?

With 20+ variants of the 911, escalating prices, and GT engines drifting further from their motorsport roots, we debate whether Porsche is still at the top of the enthusiast world… or slowly moving away from what made the brand legendary.

We close with one of our favorite segments:

This or That — Your Forever Sports Car

Rules:
• Under $250k MSRP
• Built within the last 20 years
• Your spouse must be willing to drive it coast-to-coast

Matchups include:

• 718 Spyder RS vs Ferrari 458 Spider
• GT3 Touring vs Lotus Emira V6
• 993 Carrera S vs Ferrari 355 + BMW E36 M3

If you could only choose one sports car for the rest of your life, what would it be?

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Modern performance cars are quicker, smarter, and more capable than ever.

So why do so many enthusiasts feel like something’s missing?

In this episode of Full Throttle Talk, we dive into one of the most important conversations in modern car culture:

Have we optimized performance so much… that we’ve optimized away emotion?

Drive-by-wire.
Brake-by-wire.
Electronic steering.
Software-shaped torque and sound.

At what point did cars stop being machines we operate — and start becoming systems that manage the experience for us?

We welcome Blair Smith as the newest voice on Full Throttle Talk and are joined by Shinoo Mapleton to explore:

• What “analog” really means
• Whether lightweight engineering is nostalgia — or philosophy
• If software enhances engagement or simulates it
• And whether modern performance cars feel alive… or engineered

From Ariel Atom and Caterham Seven to Lotus Elise, GR86, and Alpine A110 — we examine the machines still fighting for mechanical honesty in a software-defined world.

If you care not just about how fast a car is — but how it makes you feel — this conversation is for you.

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Ferraris are breaking records at Mecum.
Porsche fans are arguing about soul vs. specs.
And Magnus Walker is sending 150 items — including multiple Porsches — to an upcoming RM Sotheby’s auction.

Coincidence, or a signal?

This episode of Full Throttle Talk digs into what these stories really mean for modern car culture, collectors, and enthusiasts who still care about driving more than resale.

Is Porsche drifting — or simply evolving?
And what does Magnus’s auction move really say about where the brand and the culture are headed?

We break it down with real-world perspective, not hype.

CONNECT WITH US

Paul Kramer
[email protected] and Facebook: @autokennel

David Van Epps
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Instagram and Facebook: @sonderwerks

Tim Harris (text only)
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