m5trol

I saw the Miami test ride thread and started wondering, is there anyone in Scottsdale area who might be able to give me a test drive in the Q1 (Rossion)? In return, I offer drinks, food, a test ride of my c63 507 or 4.0.

Having said that, what do we (the gt3 crows) think of the Q1?

mooty

appears to be kitcar-ish.
i dont have one. but having had noble. i am done with small manufacturers.

bergx7

I drove a Noble and wasn't a huge fan. Lots of power but tight inside and felt less than fantastically well put together. The ergonomics were all wrong too (gearbox feel, pedal spacing, etc). Not sure how that translates to the Q1 but I suspect the "savings" people discuss from having the simple ford powerplant would be overshadowed by other issues you would have because it's such a low volume car.

ngng

curious, what didn't you like about small manufacturers?

madmurdock

I test drove a 2010 Rossion Q1 and it is much more refined than a Noble. Not as "kit carish" as the Noble. The body lines are clean and the interior is pretty decent for a kit car. The car I drove was gray with red interior and actually looked really nice and well done. Was fast... Scary fast, great brakes but tight interior. The pedal layout was bit tight and off center for me, but it's similar in size to my Tilton pedal box in my rally car. All in all it was a great car. I was actually seriously considering one before getting my .2RS. The RS is another league, but the Rossion would be a great track raw track car. I'm now considering one if I can find one for 50-60k. Resale values were all over the place when I was looking for one. Some going for 100-110k and once in a while one would sell for 65-70k with similar options. Check the Noble Rossion Forums for good info. http://www.nobleforums.com Rossion as a company has gone through several owners and distributors in the last few years. Not sure about their future... As far as maintenance is concerned it's super cheap. Easy to work on since everything is open once the rear clamshell is popped open. You can buy oil filters and belts at your local parts store since it's all Ford stuff.

mooty

i want a part from porsche, i get it next day.
special parts, a week or two.
noble, forever.
this isn't just cars. applies to all small manufacturers. and try to find parts for it once the Q1 is 20 years old.

mooty

haha, on the ford engine stmt. you got that right.

glad to know that Q1 is of higher qty than noble. but do not let accessibility to mechanical confuse you with service cost. a radical for example is very accessible to all its systems and compared to porsches, they are cheap to fix but it is not as cheap as you think. every hour it runs, you need at least one hour in the shop. every bolt rattles lose.

madmurdock

You're right about bolts rattling loose. The Q1 has issues with coolant lines coming apart and exhaust studs rattling loose. These can be costly if not taken care of ASAP. Better off buying a good used one already taken care of by previous owner. And then there's customer service issues being a small company. There's one for sale at 72k. Windows don't roll down and a few other issues. Things that might not be an easy fix considering the previous owner didn't resolve the issues.