RE: PH Carpool: Spectre R45
Discussion
wow....thanks for all the comments, especially from the folks who have actually seen it in the flesh, you start to get an appreciation of the product and a balanced view point becomes easier I assure you. It was never a kit, but hey there are some really great kits out there when finished & detailed properly.... Intersting to note there is some history mentioned in the posts relating to early Spectre days, which I dont have too much knowledge about, but also interesting is that there is not too much mentioned about where this R45 was laterly developed, which is fine as the premises were tightly controlled.
....and c'mon, cant believe I was let off so lightly with my profile photo, how bad has it got to be?
and a few basic stats for those interested
Layout Mid engine, two seater
Chassis Steel Space frame clad with carbon fibre for extra stiffening
Suspension Unique aluminium double wishbone and Eibach coil overs
dampers all round.
Body Carbon Fibre. Pained metallic yellow
Engine V8 Ford SVT 4.6 litre, 32 valve , quad cam, 350 bhp at 5900 revs, 335 Ibft at 4850 rpm
Transmission Getrag 6 speed manual , rear wheel drive
Brakes Alcon ventilated discs and 4 pot callipers all round
Wheels & Tyres Front 18” 225 x 40, Rear 18” 295 x 35
Interior Black & Yellow trimmed, Sparco Carbon Fibre seats, rollcage
Weight 1278 kg kerb weight (with all fluids)
Dimensions length 4325mm, width 1905mm, wheelbase 2485mm
Performance Maximum Speed theoretically > 175 mph (not tested ;-))
0 -60 mph 4.5 seconds (logged at Millbrook)
0-100 mph 10.25 seconds (logged at Millbrook)
....and c'mon, cant believe I was let off so lightly with my profile photo, how bad has it got to be?
and a few basic stats for those interested
Layout Mid engine, two seater
Chassis Steel Space frame clad with carbon fibre for extra stiffening
Suspension Unique aluminium double wishbone and Eibach coil overs
dampers all round.
Body Carbon Fibre. Pained metallic yellow
Engine V8 Ford SVT 4.6 litre, 32 valve , quad cam, 350 bhp at 5900 revs, 335 Ibft at 4850 rpm
Transmission Getrag 6 speed manual , rear wheel drive
Brakes Alcon ventilated discs and 4 pot callipers all round
Wheels & Tyres Front 18” 225 x 40, Rear 18” 295 x 35
Interior Black & Yellow trimmed, Sparco Carbon Fibre seats, rollcage
Weight 1278 kg kerb weight (with all fluids)
Dimensions length 4325mm, width 1905mm, wheelbase 2485mm
Performance Maximum Speed theoretically > 175 mph (not tested ;-))
0 -60 mph 4.5 seconds (logged at Millbrook)
0-100 mph 10.25 seconds (logged at Millbrook)
I'm on my mobile so this may not work but try here for an interior shot
As GTD has the Car presented i was really impressed.
It was very light with a very good aerodynamic (for the nineties).
But i prefer more the first version with flap headlights and OZ wheels.
Later came the version with the glasscovered headlights and has destroyed
a little bit the clean design for my opinien.
However,its a cool rare Car.
And yes,it was never offered as kit.
GTD himself has said "its our first factorybuild car and will be not available as kit"
It was very light with a very good aerodynamic (for the nineties).
But i prefer more the first version with flap headlights and OZ wheels.
Later came the version with the glasscovered headlights and has destroyed
a little bit the clean design for my opinien.
However,its a cool rare Car.
And yes,it was never offered as kit.
GTD himself has said "its our first factorybuild car and will be not available as kit"
I remember seeing Anders at Brands with the development car on a track day doing some fine tuning.
Prior to that we were the only dealers in the UK that had a signed agreement with Spectre for a franchise. Just before it all started going bandy. Would've been sometime around 1995/6 I think.
Prior to that we were the only dealers in the UK that had a signed agreement with Spectre for a franchise. Just before it all started going bandy. Would've been sometime around 1995/6 I think.
I liked the look of the GTD/Spectre R42 when it came out, a nice looking motah but way too expensive it has to be said. Even if this wasn't one, there is nowt wrong with kit cars, except in narrow minds.
Anyway, on to my Spectre story. Once upon a time about 5 years or so ago I was at Webster Race Engineering where John Webster had an R42 in for some development work.
It is a hazyish memory but I remember that the rear suspension did not have cross bracing between the tops of the rear dampers which caused tremendous chassis flex and rather unpredictable handling across bumps to say the least. I think John recalled a story of when he drove the car around the block and he described it as having a mind of its own (which is why the car was with him for some work). I guess that Spectre never managed to get far enough down the development route before they folded to address this themselves.
It would be interesting to see some images of your R45, maybe the rear chassis / subframe is different on yours or has been resolved later in its life? If not, then Webster Race Engineering have experience with development of the R42s handling so maybe a good place for you to seek out if you wanted to look at this in future.
Anyway, well done for keeping a little piece of history going.
Anyway, on to my Spectre story. Once upon a time about 5 years or so ago I was at Webster Race Engineering where John Webster had an R42 in for some development work.
It is a hazyish memory but I remember that the rear suspension did not have cross bracing between the tops of the rear dampers which caused tremendous chassis flex and rather unpredictable handling across bumps to say the least. I think John recalled a story of when he drove the car around the block and he described it as having a mind of its own (which is why the car was with him for some work). I guess that Spectre never managed to get far enough down the development route before they folded to address this themselves.
It would be interesting to see some images of your R45, maybe the rear chassis / subframe is different on yours or has been resolved later in its life? If not, then Webster Race Engineering have experience with development of the R42s handling so maybe a good place for you to seek out if you wanted to look at this in future.
Anyway, well done for keeping a little piece of history going.
JenkinsComp said:
I liked the look of the GTD/Spectre R42 when it came out, a nice looking motah but way too expensive it has to be said. Even if this wasn't one, there is nowt wrong with kit cars, except in narrow minds.
Anyway, on to my Spectre story. Once upon a time about 5 years or so ago I was at Webster Race Engineering where John Webster had an R42 in for some development work.
It is a hazyish memory but I remember that the rear suspension did not have cross bracing between the tops of the rear dampers which caused tremendous chassis flex and rather unpredictable handling across bumps to say the least. I think John recalled a story of when he drove the car around the block and he described it as having a mind of its own (which is why the car was with him for some work). I guess that Spectre never managed to get far enough down the development route before they folded to address this themselves.
It would be interesting to see some images of your R45, maybe the rear chassis / subframe is different on yours or has been resolved later in its life? If not, then Webster Race Engineering have experience with development of the R42s handling so maybe a good place for you to seek out if you wanted to look at this in future.
Anyway, well done for keeping a little piece of history going.
Mark's car has a totally different suspension design compared to to the R42.Anyway, on to my Spectre story. Once upon a time about 5 years or so ago I was at Webster Race Engineering where John Webster had an R42 in for some development work.
It is a hazyish memory but I remember that the rear suspension did not have cross bracing between the tops of the rear dampers which caused tremendous chassis flex and rather unpredictable handling across bumps to say the least. I think John recalled a story of when he drove the car around the block and he described it as having a mind of its own (which is why the car was with him for some work). I guess that Spectre never managed to get far enough down the development route before they folded to address this themselves.
It would be interesting to see some images of your R45, maybe the rear chassis / subframe is different on yours or has been resolved later in its life? If not, then Webster Race Engineering have experience with development of the R42s handling so maybe a good place for you to seek out if you wanted to look at this in future.
Anyway, well done for keeping a little piece of history going.
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