Importing a UK Kit Car into France

Importing a UK Kit Car into France

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lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Thursday 5th February 2015
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Robert Sarrailh here at Le Mans has a Lotus XI registered on French plates. Courage (director's, naturally) mon brave!

v8250

2,724 posts

210 months

Thursday 5th February 2015
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lowdrag said:
Robert Sarrailh here at Le Mans has a Lotus XI registered on French plates. Courage (director's, naturally) mon brave!
Now there's name I haven't heard of in a while.

Tony, had noted the sale of VPC 712. An interesting result...?

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Thursday 5th February 2015
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I started a new thread on the classics forum, but yes, I had told RM that either it would fly or it would bomb. it didn't exactly bomb, but the video feed showed he had a hard time selling the car, and it fetched, net of all fees, quite a lot less than I sold it for. Ah well, I enjoyed the joy and the frustration at the time, and frankly didn't like driving the thing. Too tail heavy, and easy to lose the rear end.

PS A photo of Sarrailh's workshop a few years back. All the cars are his (including the GT40 on the right being rebuilt on the jig) but that's my Lynx D in there at the time. You can see the XI next to the low drag he built. That has a special alloy block he had made in France, but it was never homologated by the FIA since he had built in stiffening strakes to stop warping.





Edited by lowdrag on Friday 6th February 13:07

v8250

2,724 posts

210 months

Sunday 15th February 2015
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lowdrag said:
I started a new thread on the classics forum, but yes, I had told RM that either it would fly or it would bomb. it didn't exactly bomb, but the video feed showed he had a hard time selling the car, and it fetched, net of all fees, quite a lot less than I sold it for. Ah well, I enjoyed the joy and the frustration at the time, and frankly didn't like driving the thing. Too tail heavy, and easy to lose the rear end.

PS A photo of Sarrailh's workshop a few years back. All the cars are his (including the GT40 on the right being rebuilt on the jig) but that's my Lynx D in there at the time. You can see the XI next to the low drag he built. That has a special alloy block he had made in France, but it was never homologated by the FIA since he had built in stiffening strakes to stop warping.





Edited by lowdrag on Friday 6th February 13:07
Hi Tony, thanks for the 'ps' and photograph. Who built the lowdrag for Mr S, was it Bob Smith @ RS? Plus, why have the alloy block made in France...surely the knowledge, resources are better placed here in Blighty?

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Monday 16th February 2015
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Ah, the Lindner/Nocker replica. He employed a craftsman called Remy who was responsible for building the Daytona coupés, and he was the man who built the shell for the lightweight. A young man but very gifted, and he now runs his own body shop at Tours. Sarrailh had signed a contract with Carroll Shelby giving him the right to build six Daytona coupé replicas, but not just any old replica, since the donor car, just like in the day, had to be a COX chassis number original 289 Cobra. The workmanship was exceptional, and in every case the original roadster shell was carefully preserved. Sarrailh has - or had - another unit close by with a rusty Mk 2 Jaguar and all the bodyshell of the GT40 in it, plus the original Pescarolo-owned Lotus VI and loads of bits and pieces.

The engine blocks; the name of the company who made them is on the tip of my tongue - so annoying. They built the engines and are extremely gifted, but it was Robert who wanted them strengthened.



Don't think that this company is a back-street bucket shop either, because they specialise in aerospace work. They also built this miniature marvel - an exact working copy of the Honda 300-6 from the 1960s:-



Pistons the size of egg cups!

Edit:-

Sorry to go on a bit, but RS Panels do figure in the Sarrailh history. He owned XKD 502, a strange car which although real and unimpeachable had had a long history. Raced at Le Mans in 1955, it had a number of serious accidents and at one time wore a most strange rear end pictured here:-





This has a fin with a shape like an Anglia rear window and you'll notice a hatch. This was the 1960 regulation for "luggage capacity", Anyway, I digress somewhat; For most of its life XKD 502 has worn a long nose body, purely because after one big shunt there were no sort nose shells available. anything goes, as they said in the day. Comes the time in 2003 when Robert decided to rebuild the car as new. He had Bob Smith over and he built a completely new shell for him, and as always with Bob it was perfect down to the last rivet. I mean that literally. Here is a photo of an alloy patch behind the drivers seat, and I counted the rivets:-



Here are the shell photos, including the Monzanapolis cooling feature on the inside rear wheel, since on the banking the tyre was shredding:-







Anyway, the foreman and I made merry hell with Robert and in the end persuaded him that while bright and shiny the car would lose its integrity, so I found a buyer for the shell. But that's another story which I'd tell you but not commit to print. Here endeth today's lesson!





Edited by lowdrag on Monday 16th February 08:31

v8250

2,724 posts

210 months

Monday 16th February 2015
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You really are a font of most wonderful knowledge. PM me the story and promise not to forward to next month's Motorsport editorial wink

Bob's riveting detail work really is just that, riveting. I have an old RS Panels polo shirt Bob gave to me and a few others in Paris celebrating their 25th Anniversary...it was never a piece of haute couture...but shows small prints of their most important works throughout their history.

You mentioning XKD 502 has brought back memories of the factory[?] GRP bodied D-Type...can't for the life of me remember the car's number, certain there was a write up in Motorsport on the car's rediscovery somewhere. Can you remember...?

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Monday 16th February 2015
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Read my lips. Never in print........ But pm me with your telephone number and that might be different. An interesting story which continues as regards another car even up until last September.

Powdernick1

37 posts

128 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
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I see that towards the end of this Thread, it's gone a bit off topic, in a good way but still off. so maybe we can get it back on track.

Ive got a Caterham classic SE, 1.6 on a Q plate. Will i ever be able to get it registered here in France or am i doomed to travel back and fourth with it every year.

pfsv427sc01

84 posts

147 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
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Almost certain not to get it registered here in France but, if you can find a company to offer insurance cover whilst abroad greater than the normal 90 days in any 12 month period, you will be doomed to the annual MOT migration.

Otherwise, you will have to run your car illegally. Not something I can condone given the risk to others and, if caught, the punishment here is very severe.

pfsv427sc01

84 posts

147 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
quotequote all
Almost certain not to get it registered here in France but, if you can find a company to offer insurance cover whilst abroad greater than the normal 90 days in any 12 month period, you will be doomed to the annual MOT migration.

Otherwise, you will have to run your car illegally. Not something I can condone given the risk to others and, if caught, the punishment here is very severe.

Powdernick1

37 posts

128 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
quotequote all
pfsv427sc01 said:
Almost certain not to get it registered here in France but, if you can find a company to offer insurance cover whilst abroad greater than the normal 90 days in any 12 month period, you will be doomed to the annual MOT migration.

Otherwise, you will have to run your car illegally. Not something I can condone given the risk to others and, if caught, the punishment here is very severe.
Thanks for that, i've seen that you've had trouble getting you car done. And of course i would not wish to drive the car illegally. The thing is, i live in the south of france and very other car is foreign plated, i can't believe that they are all running illegally, agreed most are not kit cars but still, there has to be a way.

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
quotequote all
I would have thought that there would be no problem with a Caterham since if you look here:-

http://www.club-caterham-france.fr/

There ain't 'arf a lot of 'em registered. I've met them when there were 50 in front of the cathedral at Le Mans. Nice bunch too. I suggest you contact them, but even without I can't see the powers that be giving you a lot of grief in France. It's homologated.

Powdernick1

37 posts

128 months

Saturday 14th March 2015
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lowdrag said:
I would have thought that there would be no problem with a Caterham since if you look here:-

http://www.club-caterham-france.fr/

There ain't 'arf a lot of 'em registered. I've met them when there were 50 in front of the cathedral at Le Mans. Nice bunch too. I suggest you contact them, but even without I can't see the powers that be giving you a lot of grief in France. It's homologated.
Brilliant, i've been searching for something like this for a while. I'll drop them a line and hope for the best.


Smegmium

2,344 posts

169 months

Tuesday 17th March 2015
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A question for you:

I am about to build a specialised trailer that will require an IVA test, once it has that It can be pulled on a UK road for ever more.

However, can it be pulled in mainland Europe?

I've heard of people having issues with kit cars going to lemans etc.

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Tuesday 17th March 2015
quotequote all
Smegmium said:
A question for you:

I've heard of people having issues with kit cars going to lemans etc.
Provided the car in question conforms to the rules of the country of origin it is permitted to go anywhere in the EU. I don't know about elsewhere, but for the purposes of Le Mans neither the car nor the trailer would have an issue.

magooagain

9,909 posts

169 months

Tuesday 17th March 2015
quotequote all
Smegmium said:
A question for you:

I am about to build a specialised trailer that will require an IVA test, once it has that It can be pulled on a UK road for ever more.

However, can it be pulled in mainland Europe?

I've heard of people having issues with kit cars going to lemans etc.
As long as it is pulled by a uk registered vehicle.

KimGP

1 posts

90 months

Tuesday 6th September 2016
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Hi Paul...........

Can you give me an update on your Cobra and its French registration?

I've been trying to get mine done, and have been told that they just wont do it!

Mine is a Classic Reproduction, V8 Ford and V12 Jaguar ...........

I sure hope you can help!!

KimGP

pfsv427sc01

84 posts

147 months

Tuesday 6th September 2016
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Hi KimGP

Sorry to say but I have failed so far but was going to give it one last try with a Sous Prefecture rather than the normal main one in Perigueux, but my engine snapped the crankshaft !!

Still waiting for final bits to rebuild then will try one last time. If it is still a "no", then I think I may well be bringing it back to the UK to sell frown

This is particularly annoying as I had contact with a French guy near Nice who bought a Q plate cobra in the UK and had it registered within 3 weeks !! Not what you know but who you know.

I know its not what you wanted to hear but, if my luck changes I shall post here.

Cheers
Paul


pfsv427sc01

84 posts

147 months

Tuesday 6th September 2016
quotequote all
Hi KimGP

Sorry to say but I have failed so far but was going to give it one last try with a Sous Prefecture rather than the normal main one in Perigueux, but my engine snapped the crankshaft !!

Still waiting for final bits to rebuild then will try one last time. If it is still a "no", then I think I may well be bringing it back to the UK to sell frown

This is particularly annoying as I had contact with a French guy near Nice who bought a Q plate cobra in the UK and had it registered within 3 weeks !! Not what you know but who you know.

I know its not what you wanted to hear but, if my luck changes I shall post here.

Cheers
Paul


magooagain

9,909 posts

169 months

Wednesday 7th September 2016
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In June at a hill climb in the Charente I saw a lhd French plated Cobra. So they do exist.