RE: GBRoadster Turbo S

Tuesday 2nd September 2008

Exclusive: GBRoadster Turbo S

The GBRoadster has 415bhp, weighs less than a tonne and is supercar fast. Ollie Stallwood is the first to drive the world's only RHD version



The wastegate may as well be piped directly into my right ear. It’s the kind of noise you would expect to be coming out of a heavily modified Japanese rally refugee and it is inches from my head. Woosh, shhhhh, woooosh - all of this accompanied by the surreal feeling of blood rushing to the rear of my skull as the car surges forward.


The acceleration is Caterham Superlight territory but in front of me are switches for air con, heated seats, an expensive stereo, Bluetooth...This is the first right-hand drive GBRoadster and this particular model is the ‘Turbo S’ which packs 415bhp and weighs 930kg – do the maths and that works out at 446bhp/tonne.

Despite the name this is actually a German car, having been dreamt up by Philipp Will and Herbert Funke, two students who studied at Cologne University. In Germany it is marketed as the Yes! Roadster but it was decided that this moniker wouldn’t work so well in Britain, so the name GBRoadster was used instead. Incidentally it stands for ‘German Built Roadster’ rather than the obvious.

The parts list is like a who’s who of German automotive giants – BMW ABS system, VW 3.2-litre V6, Audi RS4 wheels, Audi S3 rear brakes, Porsche anti-roll bars. The vehicles themselves are built by ex-Porsche factory technicians and the autographs of the six people who assembled each one can be found above the engine. There will only be 10 RHD Roadsters each year in the UK so exclusivity won’t be a problem.


The car is very small and looks like a mix of Ford GT90, Audi TT and Ford StreetKa, and overall it’s a pretty, if quirky-looking thing. I’ve come to Champ Cars in Oxfordshire – the sole UK importer – to have a drive. The Turbo S is a more powerful version of the 355bhp Turbo (£59,995) and is only available on special order and designed for track days. There is also a £47,995 normally aspirated version that has 255bhp but is lighter at 890kgs.

The doors are a nice touch but take a bit of getting used to – they are like Lamborghini doors but also swing outwards slightly – and once you are inside it is cosy but not too cramped. This is a rear-drive car that only makes do with ABS – there is no namby-pamby stability or traction control - so I am thanking the heavens that the rain has held off. Gary Champ, of Champ cars, assures me that it is incredibly quick. 0-60mph takes 3.4 seconds and the top speed is an estimated 200mph, which seems insane in such a compact car.


The pedals are offset to the left but apart from that the driving position is good. The Bilstein dampers do a fine job of soaking up bumps and no doubt thanks to the car’s low weight it rides extremely well. It’s an odd experience, the bonnet is very short and the car feels tiny but all the controls have a chunkiness to them. The steering is very meaty and has a ultra fast rack meaning the slightest of inputs change the car’s direction immediately.

It’s almost too much, making you feel a bit edgy, and always aware that there is a ludicrous amount of firepower behind your shoulders. This is not a car you just jump in and drive smoothly, it takes a bit of work, you have to concentrate constantly. Once we get out of the town I come across a stretch of dual carriageway.

Gary looks slightly nervous and gives me another reminder of how quick the car is. The weird thing about it is it looks so sweet and innocent so you don’t really expect it to be LP640 quick. But it is. The 3.2-litre engine from the Golf R32 is a smooth unit and the first couple of thousand revs trick you into thinking that it will be a progressive power delivery. Then the turbo kicks harder than Lily Allen surrounded by paparazzi. It’s a sledgehammer of boost, turning the car from quick to warp speed.


It feels unnerving in a car that is the same size as a baked bean tin and as I change gear it’s back on boost again, simply biting chunks out of the road ahead of me. There is a roundabout fast approaching and I lean on the brakes, which are Brembos up front. They aren’t assisted and there isn’t the kind of bite you are expecting. You have to push the pedal down quite hard before they start to work, almost like a race car, but there is a moment when you think you aren’t going to stop.

Where the GBR really surprises is on bumpy backroads. Many ultra-quick cars would become a bag of bump steer but the GBR’s body control is impressive. The more you drive it the smoother you get, gaining satisfaction from taming it, although it always feels like you will never quite get control of its wild side.


To be honest it’s probably got too much power and can be a complete handful a lot of the time. It seems like a good case for less-is-more, and I wonder whether the standard 3.2 would be an easier cross country tool, and perhaps not that much slower. The noise of the wastegate exploding everytime you use your right foot is addictive though and the acceleration is firmly in supercar territory, which would be amusing if it wasn’t so eye-wateringly scary. Put it this way: if you want a Caterham R500 or Ariel Atom but can’t do without your creature comforts maybe this is the answer.

 

Author
Discussion

Insight

Original Poster:

607 posts

197 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
www.yes.de

Here is the website. The Mk2 version (as tested) is so much better looking than the original. Well done them for updating it.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks lovely.

tomTVR

6,909 posts

240 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Bit of fiat barchetta to the front also.

Looks great though. Shame they dont build a slower version (perhaps Golf GTI powered) to compete with the Exige and i think it would be really popular with a decent warranty.

The Walrus

1,857 posts

204 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
looking at the engine I see the letters HGP which makes me think they would be able to fit the 550 bhp turbo version from them !!!

HCT

87 posts

220 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
BMW ABS? I highly doubt that. Maybe similar to the ones used by BMW. BMW has got systems from Bosch, Continental-Teves and FTE. In their brochure they say it's a racing ABS, so I guess it's from Conti-Teves.

waynepixel

3,972 posts

223 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
I like, anything this mad and fast deserves respect. Amazing concept, light car, big power, who would have thought it?

stozza

13 posts

188 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks like exhaust surrounds from a Civic type-r aswell!

Now who is the sad car geek! lol

PJR

2,616 posts

211 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks like a great car, and thats a pretty good write up too. Although my 'Cringeometer' went off the scale when I read this line "Then the turbo kicks harder than Lily Allen surrounded by paparazzi"

Anyway, Its somewhat of a "Bitsa" but seems to pull it off. Nice motor smile

P,

fastgerman.com

1,911 posts

194 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks pretty good! R32 engines sound great if that's what fitted. Not sure about the steering wheel though.

On the fence

6 posts

214 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
More fun if you plug in some headphones and have a look at the video of this year’s Goodwood run with Mike Wilds - The sound of the turbo just comes through but it’s worth a look - he’s a great driver!

www.GBRoadster.com

BlueCello

6,225 posts

206 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks very nice in a normal enviroment, and in the best colour combo for any car- black with red interior. I'd much rather have one than a Caterham, I think smile

johnnie

18 posts

202 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
looks very like the smart roadster to me with the targa removed and a streetka bootlid glued on. quite like it

JamesM

3,112 posts

188 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
R lights -> Audi TT?

Mclovin

1,679 posts

197 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
That looks so nice. I love its compact dimensions, just what you need in a high power road car.

NiallOswald

326 posts

205 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Wastegate or dump valve? It's non-recirculating dump valves that make the 'LOOK, I'VE GOT A TURBO DON'T YOU KNOW!' type noises.

gemini

11,352 posts

263 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Look remarkably like the strathcarrony thing for sale in rare cars (classifieds)

nice! lick

sidesauce

2,456 posts

217 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
tomTVR said:
Shame they dont build a slower version
You mean slower than the 225bhp normally-aspirated version? To be fair though I agree about the warranty thing though.

Sir Jonny

630 posts

209 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
I really, really want one! Can someone with more money than me buy one, keep it in a humidity controlled garage for a few years and sell it to me when they are sub £20K?

Please...

tomTVR

6,909 posts

240 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
sidesauce said:
tomTVR said:
Shame they dont build a slower version
You mean slower than the 225bhp normally-aspirated version? To be fair though I agree about the warranty thing though.
Yes, perhaps a 4 pot with FWD gearbox in the back to save cost. If they could get it to Audi TT sort of money i think they would sell loads what with performance through low weight along with the rarity factor.

130R

6,807 posts

205 months

Monday 1st September 2008
quotequote all
Looks good but unfortunately the interior photo makes me think this thing will fall to pieces faster than it accelerates. Is this a prototype?