That is a blunt and very good way to say pretty much how I feel. Thanks Peter!

Look, the Stohr is a very interesting car in its own right. It'll definitely click with certain people. But for me nothing in the Atom/KTM/FF/Star Mazda etc genre ever grabbed me by the ***** like the Mono does. I can't explain it other than I love to drive and I deeply love and appreciate thoughtful engineering and design.

Great point and several people have brought this up. The reality in my world is there is such a widely disparate range of cars and abilities with people I run with now, nothing will change! And I moving to a different personal phase where I really enjoy digging more deeply into driving technique and car set-up where that is more important to me when on track. In the pits and paddock I enjoy hanging out with a variety of drivers.

For me the joy is not in "running with" others but instead challenging myself.

With that said...once there are more of these in the US, in 2013, it is quite likely the Mono drivers will just buy a run group from an event host and run against each other on track. It'll be a whole lot more equal than anything we have now.

Thanks! You know I will communicate the experiences

 

Fantastic car. From the title of the thread and the initial pics I thought you must have already taken delivery. I can totally understand buying this over a dedicated formula car like a star mazda. It just looks so exotic and futuristic. I've tested a basic formula mazda myself and the performance was astonishing for the price point, but I wasn't motivated enough to actually commission my own car. This is something else altogether. When I'm done with my GT3 I might join you. Oh, and centerline seating is the business.

 

Pete, I've gathered from your recent chain of avatars that this is in the works. Huge congrats! Did you consider the Atom variants?

Have looked into Atoms myself but reliability became a big concern for me as I dug deeper. I wonder how BAC fares on that front...

 

Hate to be the spoil sport but.......

Buy that car to DE? LOL, and what, never EVER get a clean lap? You probably won't get half a clean lap, and the danger per lap time goes way up. As small as it is, with the close speeds, just wait until someone pulls over in front of you because they can't see you closing so fast in such a little car.

DE overkill max. Sounds boring as nothing will be in the ballpark except another one of the same thing.

 

This thing looks like a blast. Did the ariel atom experience several years ago and this level of performance is astonishing. Look forward to hearing your impressions! Enjoy..

 

Not exactly the same thing and a bit OT, but Ford in the UK has made a road legal Formula Ford with a three cylinder ecoboost and taken it around the ring faster than a Zonda

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/formu...photo-5256952/

 

our club has sessions for open wheel / sports racers and there are plenty of other cars on track with similar performance to the Mono.

 

Thanks for sharing those comments. I suspect there are a lot of drivers in a similar situation to mine/ours.

Thanks! I did consider an Atom years ago, but while I found them very interesting, no hook was ever set. The Mono was instant hook upon reading the specs and details. It just felt...right?

I don't have any info at all regarding Atom reliability but I have never heard they are not (unlike Lotus ). The Mono carries best of breed for every last component. The maintenance schedule is not unlike that of a car. All engine, transmission, brake and suspension part is readily available- one of the huge draws for me! I am so f*cking sick of paying Porsche's ridiculous butt-raping replacement parts prices.

HOD runs a very nice D group here (at several tracks) with all kinds of interesting cars. There won't be any clean lap issues there for me. You may not be be so lucky in your area to have this kind of fast car, open-passing run group. As I mentioned above a Mono only group should be easy to achieve by this time in 2013, let's revisit this thread and see if I am right? And my local track hosts open Fridays sprinkled throughout the year. A handful of folks show up to run on a 3 mile track, again, no problem for me there.

So, your concerns in that regard simply have no basis in reality for me.

And you presumed I am buying it to "DE". I'm buying it to enjoy driving on track, not to "DE". Driving enjoyment is obtained from tracking not from "DE"ing

The point that is true and will always be true is I will always need to be on guard to be sure I am seen by cars I am overtaking. I'm very careful about that now, so that won't be require any changes.

Now go place your deposit and get one!

I've never driven the Atom, but I know in skilled hands they are damn quick.

 

Exactly

 

Congrats! I hope to be one of the first to lay eyes on it. Looks incredible.

 

that's the car, *** white outside and menstral red inside.

selling 3.8 AGAIN? what are you trying to break my record?

 

Your record is safe.. We've developed a special script monitoring all GT3 purchases within Rennlist.
You are in P1 with a margin of 7 street cars , a cup and two gearboxes.

Pete , you are a crazy mustard. That's why I love you. You bought sight unseen, a feather-light car that's made in a barn in Cheshire..!. Did you get an invitation for the London Olympics from her Majesty ?

 

savvy - did you ever consider the radical sr3rs or sr8?
they have their own run groups here and a racing programme.
also, they are 2 seaters, good for when you getting tuition when starting out.
they are also much quicker than atom/211/cup etc...

 

Cool car. Price is jaw dropping. And not in a "wow, that's a good deal" sort of way

 

A good chance of that happening

<note to self> Don't ready Mooty posts while eating breakfast.

sigh...yes, a barn car...an English barn car... Almost Russian Roulette I suppose, isn't it? Given history and all

Lol!

Radical West is based at Spring Mountain in Pahrump NV, 7 hours south of me. I've run at that facility several times and seen the Radicals on track and in the garage area. They are stupendously quick. And seemed to require a lot of work to keep them running or so it has been my impression. And they also looked a bit of a hodge-podge mess to me with the bodies open/off. So my *perception* was of an overgrown toy. Interesting to watch, but never any interest at all to own.

Some folks think the two-seater is good for instruction and/or carrying a passenger. For them it is true, it's what they want. Personally, the appeal of the single seat resonates more for me. A natural chassis balance, no wasted weight. And while I enjoy taking passengers, I won't miss it either. It is a personal thing for sure.