Hi everyone,
Here comes not only my introduction but also my first big question.
I'm Nils, from a small town in central Europe and only have been to a trackday as a passenger once and was go-karting when I was a teenager. I've been really looking into Radicals for a project in the last year.
In the early 2000s there has been a concept car by Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg and students of Skövde University. That project was a LMP 900 race car. As you can see on the pictures it had styling cues from the CC-Line and looked promising. Sadly the clay model and most information about it was lost in a fire that occurred at Koenigsegg's factory at the time.
Now we come to the actual question... A couple of friends and I are considering taking a Radical base and build custom bodywork for it to recreate the car since it has a lot of visual similarities to the fittingly fast SR8.
What base could you recommend? The plan is to get close to the original one and to have it road registered, likely in the UK, as it is relatively easy to do so there. From what I can tell the SR3, for example Colin McRae's, can get registered. Does that work for SR8s too? Furthermore, what engine should we be looking for? I'm a little concerned the RPEs are expensive to maintain - are there any realistic possibilities to use the EcoBoost engines?
I understand it's a lot of questions but I tried my best to answer the most myself with the material available. The main question is still what base you would recommend, the other points are just mentioned so you get a better understanding for what I'm looking for.
Thank you very much guys!
Welcome Nils (@nr-gs)! That looks like an ambitious project that will be a lot of fun. I hope you keep us updated on your progress. One of the big questions is how big of a car is this? The Radical that would be the closest in looks and possibly the easiest conversion would be to use a PR6. The PR6 has similar body lines and the roll bar is very similar. The challenge with using a PR6 is it is a pretty small car that uses 13" wheels.
If you want to use an EcoBoost engine and make it road legal the easiest path would be to use an SR3SL. The SR3 SL has the benefit of already having an ecoboost engine in it and they were originally built with a Small series certification so it should be easy to register in many European countries. There were some first generation (Supersport and Tracksport) and second generation (RS) SR3's that were delivered from the factory with an option package called Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) or Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) which enabled the car to be registered in the UK. There were a very small number of SVA SR8's built but they are very hard to find.
Charley
@charleyhradicalsportscarregistry-com
Hi Charley, it's in fact an ambitious project 😉
The car was never built in 1:1 size so we can only estimate, I'm currently working on getting the 3D files of it in order to get the proportions right...
The orientation would be similar cars, for example the R8 LMP, which are all sized around 4m x 2m x 1.1 m
Welcome! I read this earlier and also thought 'ambitious' and had the same suggestion - a SR3 SL. It has plenty of usable power and has engine characteristics which make it much easier to drive on the road than the SR3/8, will be cheaper to run than a SR3/8 and already has EU certification.
It's mainly the bodywork which you'll be creating, and as long as the skill and means is there, it should be doable. There are folks which have done much much more than this, so maybe it's not as out there as first thought. It reminds me of the Ford GT Prototype.
I wonder would it be best to modify the original panels, taking away/adding to suit, or use measurements and mold the ones you want from scratch? Ultimately you could make a conversion kit for others.
So far the plan would be to mold new ones, that's sadly a little pricey though. A friend of mine has his own automotive design studio in the UK so I'll see what he thinks. As you pointed out, we'll mainly change the bodywork and some details/decals on headrests, center locks etc.
I don't know wether we would be allowed to sell further kits, even though that could fund the project. At the end of the day it's still another company's product. I know Christian von Koenigsegg and think he will like that we revive this lost concept but if we start making a business out of it I'm not too sure... 😛
I found a SR3 in the Netherlands which might be suitable. SR3 for sale
Please note this is a road registered SR3 i.e. one that has been through a SVA or equivalent test, rather than the SR3 SL model which we were mentioning earlier (and the seller seems to confuse it a little with). It's still very suitable for your purpose, the main difference being the engine.
This is an early SR3 from a similar era to the McRae one mentioned above, perhaps the model just before. It's right hand drive, comes with the street exhaust and the dash switches look factory fit which makes me think it could originally be a UK factory SVA'd model.
Thanks for the effort :))
Two questions: Is it possible to convert it to LHD? and How easy or hard is the Hayabusa engine to maintain?
THANK YOU!
Overwhelmed by the support of you guys.
LHD conversion, I've no experience of this, hopefully another member could advise, however:
The carbon dash has a notch for the steering column, it may need replaced or modified. Probably better replaced.
There may be a LHD & RHD rack, or perhaps it could be flipped upside down?
The pedal box would need remounted and pipes and cables rerouted or extended.
The seating position is biased toward the driver having more space and a central driving position, this would need reset.
Honestly, the driving position is close to sitting in the centre of the car, so if you drive on the road, you'll notice that for the first time or two you'll be driving too close to the centre line! In a normal car you sit at the side of the car, and look almost along where the wheel runs along, if you try that on a Radial, a the road position will be offset. Which leads me onto my suggestion - perhaps leave it as RHD and see how it is.
Hayabusa engine - Originally this would have been a Hayabusa based engine (part Suzuki, part Radical), rather than a 100% Suzuki Hayabusa engine. Best clarify that with the seller, but if it's 1400cc then it's probably the Radical one.
If it's all Suzuki, it would be cheapest, if it's part Radical then it starts to add up. The life is measured in hours, however if it is non race hours, then there will be longer between servicing and maintenance. Hopefully another member could fill in the blanks here, as I have no experience with the SR3 engine!
Here is another SR3 for sale in the UK, it's also road legal, and less money SR3 for sale
There seems to be a choice of these at the moment!
Add moving the handbrake brackets etc. to the LHD conversion list above.
@stephen , that is a great looking car. I sent the seller a note asking the chassis number but unfortunately didn’t get a response. It would be great to get that one into the Registry.
Charley
Hi to buy a road registered radical in the uk you will pay a little bit more than a track car and they are quite rare there are quite a few hurdles to jump to register them if you try after you have changed the body
Got to know one of the guys involved in the project, found out some more stuff. Will keep you guys posted 🙂
