Fuel economy racing... with supercars.. sad MPG
 

5 mpg while racing a supercar isn't too bad, :p

That's true, but I don't see how they only managed to get 1.7 MPG out of the Ferrari. My friend's dad owns one of those 599GTBs and we took it to a track day at Road Atlanta back a few months ago and just for kicks I asked him what his fuel millage was and he said 8MPG. That's 8MPG on Road Atlanta under full race conditions...how the HECK did they only manage 1.7? I still think that the Lotus Elise or Honda S2000 are the way to go if you really want a sports car but still care about fuel millage. The S2000 get 30mpg and it's still a blast to drive and don't even get me started about the Elise...o boy what a track car that little beauty is.

They didn't say how they drained the tanks, so if the tank was totally empty then its more of a whose fuel pickup is the lowest competition...

I do love how Top Gear does all sorts of crazy "experiments". Most border on the ridiculous but usually you can learn something from them.

Oh and if you want a sportscar on a budget, Miata's are pretty good fun to drive with good fuel economy.

yeah if you got the cash for a Ferrari or Lambo, fuel is the least of your concerns

At least it's funny, because it's Top Gear. If you can afford any of those cars, you aren't required to give a damn how much fuel they use. Happily, that's a statistically meaningless fraction of the population.

I once read a review of the Subaru STI where the reviewer mentioned that he got 9mpg while the car was in his care. Needless to say, that's not that surprising-- a 300hp AWD monster like that just begs to be flogged. However, sensible driving (and a boost controller) will still get you 30mpg on the highway, so it all works out.

Besides the Miata, the other best sports car value is probably the 3rd-gen Toyota MR2 Spyder. 180hp, 30ish mpg highway, 2200lbs, a six speed, and reasonable resale value (especially compared to the S2k). I'd have one if my needs didn't dictate a wagon (I frequently have to haul bulky crap).