Thursday 16th September 2010

Spartan-V: The 300kg Bike-Engined Track Car

Curvaceous Ducati-powered track toy honours ancient warrior race (honestly)

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Question: what connects graphic artist Frank Miller, an ancient civilisation, and a Ducati motorcycle? The answer, most unexpectedly, is this - the Spartan-V track car.

Built by Spartan, a small Australian company, this curvy little track-only speedster uses a 170 horsepower 1199cc Ducati motor to power along a steel spaceframe chassis and carbon fibre body that weighs a scarcely credible 300kg.

As a result the Spartan-V, claim its makers, is capable of 175mph and of sprinting to 62mph in a mere 3.0secs.

More weirdly, the car has been created, according to the company website, "in honour of the brave Spartans that fought so many years ago, so there will only be 300 Spartan-V track cars manufactured worldwide." (There's your Frank Miller connection).

Deposits for the Spartan-V are being taken now, and the total price will be $90,000AUD (£55k).

Spartan-V tech spec:

ENGINE: Ducati 1198S
CAPACITY: 1199cm³
POWER: 170HP
WEIGHT: Less than 300kg
BRAKES: Front & Rear - Wilwood lightweight 300mm ventilated and scalloped rotors, Wilwood 4-piston billet calipers and Wilwood rotor hats
PEDALS: Tilton racing pedal assembly with remote brake bias
WHEELS: 17 x 7 inch lightweight race wheels
TYRES: 205/45 R17
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed sequential
SUSPENSION: Fully adjustable double wishbone front and rear with QA1 adjustable lightweight shock absorbers (OHLINS suspension upgrade available)
STEERING: Woodward Racing quick ratio steering rack and collapsible steering column, Sparco quick release steering hub, Sparco Formula steering wheel
INSRUMENTS: Ducati 1198 Digitek LCD dash
SEATS: Sparco competition FIA-approved racing seats, Sparco Racing FIA-approved 5 or 6 point harnesses
FINAL DRIVE: Drexler Motorsport Formula chain drive LSD
CHASSIS: Trellis design spaceframe - 350Mpa DOM mild steel tubing with roll-over protection. FIA-approved roll bar optional
BODY: Carbon-fibre
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h: 3 seconds
TOP SPEED: 280km/h
PRICE: $90,000AUD

[bobmcgod]

Want.

[mrmr96]

How on earth can it weigh sub 300kg?

[jon-]

mrmr96 said:

How on earth can it weigh sub 300kg?

Indeed, when the motorbike it's based on is the best part of 200kgs.

[rhinochopig]

mrmr96 said:

How on earth can it weigh sub 300kg?

Totally agree. There is no way that will be sub 300kg. My blackbird westy - with all the lightweight bells and whistle and some very very light 13" wheels and no reverse box was just over 400kg.

I don't believe the top speed claim either TBH.

ETA - Pretty looking thing though. Very Maserati.

Edited by rhinochopig on Thursday 16th September 11:14

[ApexJimi]

Jeez, that looks absolutely brilliant.

If it really does weigh circa 300kg, then that is a very impressive engineering feat indeed.

[soad]

Drool

Looks so good.

Those mirrors are too small perhaps - next to useless?!

[cliffie]

So the chassis and body weigh 300kg, can we please add the drivetrain, engine, and wheels to that figure now?

[joe_90]

Im guessing the carbon fibre body is most of the cost..

[ArtVandelay]

It's lovely but the badge and name ruin it for me. When you think of Australian cars you don't think of the Spartans.

This isn't Sparta!

[Volker]

great, looks like a modern version of a Costin Nathan (less than 400 kgs, 44 years ago...) :-)

[juansolo]

No way it's 300kgs.

Pretty though.

[ManOpener]

mrmr96 said:

How on earth can it weigh sub 300kg?

I read somewhere about someone building a mid-engined IS200 for Time Attack using a space-frame and carbon bodywork. He claimed that the entire body including space-frame and rolling chassis only weighed 80-odd KG.

If that's true then I can believe this is true.

Edited to add- didn't the old Porsche 909 weight something like 325kg with a hulking great flat 8?

Edited by ManOpener on Thursday 16th September 11:32

[Rusty-C]

Love the look, but 170mph out of 170bhp, surely not? If true, it shows what a Caterham could do if introduced to aerodynamics.

[Twincam16]

God that's beautiful, reminiscent of the Maserati 'birdcage'. Ducati engine should sound fantastic too. Pity it won't be road-legal as I could see this bridging the gap between the likes of Caterham and the Elise.

[Macboy]

I just desperately want someone to make something that looks like this, with slightly more mainstream mechanicals but at something like a reasonable price. There is a market for a road or track toy for all those people without £££ burning a hole in their pocket. This and the X-Bow, the Lotus 2-Eleven are all priced at a level that excludes all but the most dedicated enthusiasts when there are thousands of people out there who don't want a classic car, have to have a family car for regular duties, have never liked or don't want a bike but want something for a two hour blast on road or track without selling a black-market kidney. Now that's a challenge - take the old Smart roadster chassis for instance, loose all the comfort features, give it a decent 150bhp engine, make a cheap (ie not carbon fibre) body and sell it for £15-£20k.

This is just another footnote product IMO that people will look at, comment on its clearly pretty shape then not buy.

[louiebaby]

170 BHP from a 1.2 litre V Twin. Why don't they mention torque figures then???

I like the looks, I'm dubious about the weight claims, and I'm nervous about cars with sports bike engines.

I'm sure I'd never fit in one, and I'd wreck the power to weight ratio, but it would be a giggle I suppose.

[ewenm]

Rusty-C said:

Love the look, but 170mph out of 170bhp, surely not? If true, it shows what a Caterham could do if introduced to aerodynamics.

I don't know why companies like this quote top speed figures. It's so irrelevant to the style of car and I suspect it might be somewhat unstable at 170mph

[sprinter1050]

Bit of an odd engine choice for a trackday car I'd have thought ??

Would be interested to see how it drives but afraid I find it a bit bland looking myself.

[Hugo a Gogo]

lovely, reminds me of the Porsche 909 'Bergspyder' ahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_909_Bergspyder a lardy 385kg with a 2litre flat 8

[MrTappets]

Anyone remember the Road Razor?