TaylorSea4

Actually, George, Radical uses an LSD that's chain driven (or something along those lines). They offer several different cars and power options. And yes, they are PROPER race cars. Adjustable suspensions, downforce tunnels, full-tilt cro-mo frames; DA WORKS! Priced a BIT steep at $65-70K, but man, these things would humiliate a new GT3 without breaking a sweat.

Eleven-hundred pounds wet (give or take) with a 1300cc Suzuki motor pumping out a tame 200+hp. "Stocker" 1000 Suzuki or 1100 Kawasaki motors are rated for about 150hp; still an UNREAL power- weight ratio. A turbo'd version cranking out 330hp DESTROYED the lap record at Nurburing a year ago; by an embarrassing margin. That's 330hp in a real deal RACE car tipping the scales around 1100 pounds. EESH!

Check it out for yourselves...

http://www.radicalextremesportscars....ge/sr3/sr3.php

And seeing as how I can't get my fave shot to load (file too big), check THIS out...

http://www.radicalextremesportscars....es/sr3sky2.jpg

TaylorSea4

Oh yeah, and I think if you dig around their site, you'll see that they ARE in fact SCCA legal. D-sport class or something?? NASA has a class for them as well; I think 2 of them ran well at the Thunderhill 25 Hour until crashing last year. And with the cars' rising popularity and success, 2 year old models are popping up used for a LOT less dough. Suddenly, piloting a TRUE prototype racer isn't the pipe dream it used to be.

my84-944

For me the whole point of a kit car is to make something from common parts. Like the idea of a VW or Chevy engine. I know that there are few Porsche "extra parts" not to mention the fact that the parts are just as expensive as new car parts and in some cases more. I say scrap the VW and Motorcycle engine and try for a new design that would incorporate a light chassis with a powerful motor, say something along the lines of a Fiat 124 sport spyder with a small block v-8 or large v-6? Maybe use an older Celica rear wheel drive for a model. I know that there are loads more of those for donor parts available. Power to weight ratio of a new Viper? Might be a big seller.

inactiveuser92616

maybe I am wrong here, but I think a honda civic would make an excellent platform. I hear that they have very good suspension geometry, and with the honda aftermarket you could tune the engine to whatever you want it to do. The transverse engine isnt great, but some real racecars run that setup still (spec racer ford, for one).

my84-944

While the parts would be more abundant for the Civic, I think that you would have some trouble fitting a larger displacement engine in the small civic body. Also the transverse engine setup would almost make it impossible to do not to mention the expence. If someone wanted a hopped up Civic they could simply go out and buy one. A "kit car" should be unique and something you build your self hence the term kit car. Plus I think the original idea behind the kit car was to make it affordable to the average Joe, who could put something truly unique and fun together in his garage on weekends.

JimV8

As far as modding the 944 into something, why not consider the LT1 chevy 350. So many have done it and it really is tempting. Think AC Cobra, that worked pretty good. The 944 is built like a sh*t brickhouse so its good for the torque and the rest well its a mtter of suspension, big brakes, and tires.

inactiveuser92616

I thought the idea was to build a new chassis and swap in the running gear of a street car?

speedracing944

The idea was an easy bolt up street legal kit using 944 parts. I checked out the Radical website and a new one goes for $90K. Used ones around $30-35k. I was thinking more alone the lines of a $12K kit or less. I am very aware the 944 is nowhere along the lines of a new Carrera GT but my thought is to create a package which would have a weight to power ratio close to 8:1 using bare bones stock 150 hp motor. Now if you wanted to spice it up a little you could always sub in a turbo 2.5, turbo S 2.5 or any other 944 based motor. You could easily get a ratio of 5:1 with one of those combinations.

Any more thoughts or ideas?

Jason_86_951

I know this is in the other direction but;

How about a 944 stripped chassis with a Yamaha, Suzuki, r hi-rev motorcycle motor.
Could it be mated to the torque tube somehow and keep the Porsche tranny?

Imagine the look on people's faces after they heard that scream by them at an autocorss.....lol

sweanders

Why not just do what a Porsche does best - being a Porsche. Modified right it is a beast on the track. I don't need more grip or brakes on the 951 Cup to keep up with the Ferarri 360 CS or 996 GT3 - I just need more power. A motorcycle engine would be going the opposite way.

my84-944

Sweanders has a valid point. Why make a kit car from an existing body? Considering the Porsche is already a fine automobile. If we are talking about a "Kit Car" you should try and consider real viable solutions. Consider the Shelby kits out there. Relatively cheap, nice lookers, and use common parts. Unless you are planning on supplying everything with the kit that would be hard and or expensive to find (944 Parts) then maybe leave the 944 idea in the round file.

2BWise

I'm involved with FSAE at UC and building a car around a bike engine is not much of a problem. You can build a tubeframe and use wishbones all round with push/pullrods and dampers mounted inside the frame. This allows you to move all weight towards the center of the car and mount it very low in the car.
The engine can be mounted transversely midship, and the transmission is inside the engine casing, so there is no need for a separate transmission. It must then be chain driven, but by using a torsen diff you can get the limited slip effect that you would want. We're using a 600cc F4i, but there would be little difficulty in switching to a 1000cc engine. The best part is that our final car is under 500 lbs. So an unrestricted 1000cc engine would give you at least a power to weight ratio of 4 to 1.

Matt Sheppard

If you wanted to get away from the chain-drive approach, for whatever reason, the BMW R and K bikes are shaft driven, K being the better candidate with water cooling and compact "brick" design. Worked, a K1200 would generate close to 140 - 150HP and they are cheap to get in the 1000 cc earlier version.

DER951

If you look at some of the promo pictures from when the 944 was new, they show a bare view of the suspension and drivetrain without the body. I've thought about tieing those parts together with a smaller, lighter frame, along the lines of a Lotus 7. The front and rear crossmembers are made to bolt up as an assembly. Maybe the torque tube could be shortened. Not sure what to do with the tops of the struts.

Would you have the most technologically kick *** modern car? No, but if you were talented, skillful and lucky, you might have an elemental sports car, that's fast, nimble, and you personally know every nut, bolt and weld in the whole thing.

Burma Shave

550 Replica body,cm tube chassis,inboard shocks etc.,turboed hyabusa engine..sequential shift,13000rpms...what more could you ask for? Oh yeah, reverse. How is that handled in Radicals or FSAE? Build a couple with friends and go racing. Oh well, I can dream...