Iain, Thanks for the heads up, will bear that in mind, especially about fitting me + helmet in.
I guess 'we' wouldn't have the issue in a Can-am

One option I took was to have a single connecting tube between the front and rear roll bars. Gave me a lot more headroom as I struggled to fit too. I'm only 6ft but I have short legs and a long body. Sitting down I am the same height as my 6'6" mate. Worth asking the factory about this option. It didn't cost any extra at the time too.

OK, 1st look at a GTR today. It had a lowered floor, so headroom was not an issue, although would need to try wearing a helmet and see what it was like.

Car was OK, not a concourse example, but would suffice. Need to look at a few other to compare /contrast.

Unfortunately, no test drive as the batteries were flat, but in all honesty, i was more than happy to look.

Just a quick point here. The pedal box is adjustable. These type of pedal boxes always take a bit of playing with to get them right. I seem to remember CJ struggling to get the brake bias cable in around the throttle pedal on his GTR build. With some adjustment and a small bit of modification (shortening the master cylinder pushrods) you should be able to move the pedals back a hole on the base.

Don't let this limit you in your decision.

My Can-Am was 'only' 400bhp vs the 630odd of my GTR but both were way quicker than pretty much anything I ever encountered on a trackday.




I think that is a little misleading Stig.....

A standard Ultima on road tyres is not that quick on track, i know you have done quite a bit of racing but the Ultimas ive seen on track recently have certainly not been 'way quicker than pretty much anything'

Westfield owners refer to Ultimas as mobile chicanes as im sure you are aware, Caterhams, Nobles, Radicals, Atoms, most bike engined vehicles if light enough are all quicker.

The factory 720 is obviously a lovely quick car but as most know its quite different from a standard Ultima.

Ultimas are devastating down the straights but on the brakes very early and slow round the corners. Im sure its frustrating following them for a lot of trackday goers.

Pop along to Oulton sometime Dom and see for yourself... Nobles are definately quicker pound for pound, i could add to the list but i was just trying to make a point, trackday use has been mentioned and i felt Stigs post was not a fair reflection of what ive seen.

Obviously a car like Martins should be a different story

Fully agree, you can't generalise any car as being faster than another without doing some scientific comparissions to remove the variables. Track days cater for a wide variety of people, with different skills and objectives. I've seen as many onboard vids of Ultimas on a mission and passing everything in sight, as I have just enjoying the drive and having some sensible fun, so such generalisations are clearly pap.

In terms of laptimes, the best data I could find is from the Top Gear track where the 720 GTR did 1.09 (slicks) and 1.12 (street tyres), which are deeply impressive times. According to TG's site, the M12 GTO did a 1.33 and the M400 a 1:25.... the Atom a 1.19, the R500 a 1.17 and the MP4-12 a 1.16.

I think it's fair to say that any Ultima has the potential to be a pretty swift motor on any given track, how far owners go with power, brakes, suspension, driver training and the like, will ultimate dictate a laptime on any track..... much like any other car.

"Westfield owners refer to Ultimas as mobile chicanes as im sure you are aware, Caterhams, Nobles, Radicals, Atoms, most bike engined vehicles if light enough are all quicker.

The factory 720 is obviously a lovely quick car but as most know its quite different from a standard Ultima.

Ultimas are devastating down the straights but on the brakes very early and slow round the corners. Im sure its frustrating following them for a lot of trackday goers"

Nice bit of generalisation there. Most bike engined cars are not quicker - most bike engined cars driven by better drivers will be. Ultimas don't brake and corner slowly, their owners do. If the car isn't set up well and the owner is not experienced or cautious, it won't be quick - wow what a revelation

An example of how relatively quick they are is the Macgtech car (disregard the reliabilty at the mo)- initially iirc, the wishbones were the normal short ones, it had slicks, a high downforce rear wing and a big splitter. You don't seem many Caterhams, Westfields or Atoms doing 1.10s at Donington when on slicks..

I haven't seen many Ultimas on track and I think a large number of Caterham, Westfield and Atom owner do regular trackdays - so they're generally more experienced and all of the above are a hell of a lot easier to drive than an Ultima. Radicals more so. I've been on trackdays in Imprezas and Westfields and have been held up by Caterhams, Westfields, Atoms, Nobles, Porsches, Ferraris and Radicals, but so what, it's not a race, everyone goes at their own pace. Additionally the typical Ultima owner has a huge amount more at stake - £40K minimum normally, which is the maximum for most Caterhams and Atoms. Radicals are normally track only and I think are typically used harder. Regarding tyres, road tyres in sizes for Ultimas are typically quite outdated, the best are PS2s which are good on road but crap on track. Most Caterhams and Westfields have sticky Avons or other track spec tyres, Radicals will normally be on slicks.

The factory TG car (assuming it had the long front wishbones) would undoubtably be faster on most tracks, but I'd guess the wishbones would make 2-3 secs round the TG track assuming everything else equal - aside from the wishbones there was little else different, springs and that's it? Despite the flaws of the std wishbones, something like SS's splitter setup would offset some of the understeer, obviously the full hog like Mr Storer is ideal.

Regardless, with an equal driver, a 500hp Ultima on track springs, settings and decent tyres will be faster than all factory Caterhams, Westfields and Radicals apart from the v8.

I'm going to Bedford in August, will keep count of cars I hold up and post the list

my point exactly....

You should try and articulate a little better then.

You said standard Ultimas aren't that quick. If they're built to factory spec they are pretty quick.
What you actually meant is a typical standard built Ultima isn't that quick, so if you chuck it together or bodge a few things it won't be great.

Have you ever set one up for track use based on your own settings?