I imagine you are on slicks- plus 300+ pounds lighter. Same HP.

 

True but that's still a huge gap.

 

I see it differently. It was its first time out there, and in development. I suppose time will tell. Plus, its a spec class.

 

I'm just surprised it's not faster.
And I don't rule out being interested in one as the car hits mainstream!

 

IMO, lap times are not that important as long as you are racing against other NPT-01's. It's safe, basic and new, and it has a number of good technical partners involved in its development.

The FM is more than 400 lbs lighter and has similar power. I would expect a top FM time to be around 1:55-1:56 at VIR and once these cars are sussed, the NPT-01 would be in the 2:02-2:03 on their spec tires.

Not bad, but I'll stick with my historic, Pinto powered two-seater aluminum monocoque sports racing car with a two barrel carburetor, which weighs 1400 with me in it and does 1:58-1:59's on slicks. We had nearly 40 same-class cars show up in September and there is NOTHING better than coming up to the green flag in that scrum! I like that I can run club days, DMTD, HPDE, NASA SR, SCCA P2 and nearly every historic racing event in the country with ONE car, in the same spec, with the same tires!

Hope the NPT-01 can achieve similar critical mass. If so, it will be a success! If not, still a lot of fun!

 

I hear ya. I just know how testing a brand new car is.
~3 seconds is not huge to me when you consider its first time running, Toyo Dot RR's, 300+ pounds heavier, still in development phase when they were there. 3 will be at the 25 hours of TH, 2 racing, one display.

Full disclosure- I'm either Chassis #19 or #20. I do wish on paper it had 200-220HP

 

Agreed.
The car is being offered at a pretty good price point compared to other closed cockpits such as Radicals or Praga. It's an interesting idea for a spec class. I hope the visibility out of that cockpit is good with respect to seeing rearward traffic.

 

I sat in them at SEMA. I was concerned also. That concern went away once I saw their mirror placement. The Blue one has a 7" screen with a rear camera without mirrors. It was a cool set up.

 

Cool!
Then of course there's always this:

 

Spec Miata is faster than that there I have no doubt. Those weren't the fast guys pushing each other to get that 134

 

I have a rear view camera in my racecar. It is not a substitute for mirrors and should not be used as one.

You either have a wide enough angle to see all that you need to see that is close to you (as mine is) or it has a narrow field and you can see cars that are more than 50 feet away.

 

Are they going to have Customer Service Reps at the track, just curious if you bang one up during practice then what? Seems like a cool mini version of a daytona prototype but does NASA need another spec class?

 

Testing at Thermal Club. Looks like fun although the sequential seemed to be sticking at one point. Pretty cool spec car at 65k.

 

It was the No Lift switch breaking in. All fixed after that session. It pulled the same Laptime as a BAC Mono there they said.

 

Sounds awesome, no doubt. But I'm someone who can't accept the additional risk of racing an open cockpit car. Track days? Maybe. Wheel to wheel racing? No way.

A roof is definitely one of the things I like about this new spec car. And who knows, with the current direction of Porsche Caymans of America club racing...