Friday, January 09, 2009 - 09:43 am, by: Rehan Bandara(Parsec)
I'm sure a lot of people here have dreamt about owning an Ariel atom (and probably putting that silly supercharger in the bin and turboing it).
Unfortunately, they don't import them to Australia (not that I could come anywhere close to being able to afford one). That doesn't really stop me from wanting a tubular framed open wheeler of some sort.
This has got me thinking... what if I could take a road car, peel all the panels off it and reinforce it with a tubular truss/cage. Check out this mx5 bullet without panels. Obviously it's missing a lot of stuff, but it's a tantalising sight.
Getting it registered would be a bit of a pipe dream, but it's got me thinking and wondering about ADRs and what does and doesn't comply with our roadworthiness regulations.
The obvious use is a track day car, but I do really like the idea of one day getting it registered.
The idea is very much still in pipe dream stage, but I'm thinking a cheap MR2 with loads of panel damage (who hasn't seen one of those!?) would be a great start.
As for why? I'm trying to justify that to myself... so I came up with a list of reasons:
Lighter: higher power to weight ratio. Lower: no wheel arches, semi open wheeler type arrangement. Shorter: Possibly able to shorten it by removing all sorts of redundant spaces like the front spare tyre well and the rear "boot" More visceral: of dubious objectivity, but hey, who doesn't like the wind in their face and the raw sound of an uncovered engine behind your head.
Friday, January 09, 2009 - 12:35 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
I'd be more inclined to just grab some pipe and build something from scratch.
A guy in my car club has done something similar with a moke. Drive line, seat, steerer, pedals, wheels and a whole bunch of tubes. He uses it for hillclimbs motorkhana etc.
Friday, January 09, 2009 - 02:02 pm, by: Christian Molenda(Christof)
Those mx5's were produced by bullet and they were road registerable in aus with the option of supercharged or naturally aspirated quad cam 8. http://www.bulletcars.com/cars/preowned/
My mate actually worked there and built the chassis of these. They are very well constructed card
Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:50 am, by: Rehan Bandara(Parsec)
Really? The ariel atom gets registered in many countries (although I think it's yet to be deemed roadworthy in Aust and Nz, but they're working on it. I haven't looked into why it isn't being imported here yet.)
It's not just weight. There's something really raw and visceral about a car without panels. It's like a fast go kart or other open wheeler. The lack of wheel arches means it can be absurdly low as well.
I am looking into kit cars as well which seem like a more sensible route than stripping an MR2, but I've always had a soft spot for the things.
Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 09:48 pm, by: Mike Dobkin(Razman)
Rehan Bandara wrote on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:50 am:
I am looking into kit cars as well which seem like a more sensible route than stripping an MR2
Exactly my thoughts - ripping the panels off a production car is just senseless IMO. You can then design it to your idea of how a car should look and perform.
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