R1 vs R6

Nitrous and a decent size bottle.

 

He should buy a Ducati 996 or 998. Lovely power delivery. 160 top end.
Reliable and really well made. And they have a bit of a rush on around
5000rpm on the way to a 9 or 10 red line.

 

That's a very sensible way of looking at it.

That said, there are some (a very few!) vehicles that I just decide to
keep until they break. The Ducati, obviously. The 400 Four. The car.

 

And the rest. My Saab's on 180k-ish on what I'm fairly certain is the
original turbo.

 

FPT - it's a '90 proper 900, not one of these Vauxhall things...

 

165/175/185bhp from 2.0 depending on cat and boost level. Mine's 175.

 

IIRC, it's as much down to the improved management - and, especially,
ignition - but increasing the boost doesn't inherently shorten turbo
life. Lubrication & cooling are the main killers.

 

I'm not fussed by the number of previous owners. I just know that if it
hasn't been abused before me, it will have been by the time I get rid
of it, so why worry.

 

Quite right too.

To be honest, getting 180bhp from a modern litre sports engine is a
piece of piss. Wouldn't cost more than a couple of grand, tops.
Slick would do it for you over the winter

 

No problem at all, I'd ahve thought. Kwackzilla has 194bhp at the
wheel, and Slick says it'll be no problem at all to run on the street,
cos it'll never get 10% of the caning that it would on the track.