RE: The Light Car Rocket: Spotted
Discussion
A good bit of archive Top Gear (1992) with Tiff and Clarkson testing the early version of the Light Car Cmpany Rocket out on roads and track:
http://youtu.be/5JFOyBbyWjs
http://youtu.be/5JFOyBbyWjs
Must have been about 15 years ago, early in my driving career the five-0 had pulled over a Light Car company Rocket on the uphill section of the A31 Bentley by-pass and to this day i always slow down there until I have passed the lay-by to make sure there's no copper hiding, waiting to catch me!
They don't come-up often for sale - when they do they're almost always PoA but I know a bloke who knows a bloke who seriously enquired about one early last year and was met with a demand for a figure not a kick-in-the-arse off £200k - the car was far from mint (from what he said) and prices have not dropped in that time.
Obviously that's one anecdote of one person selling one car - but it's hardly a buyer's market, the people involved with it - the owner list etc. - makes it a 'if you have to ask you almost certainly can't afford' thing.
Obviously that's one anecdote of one person selling one car - but it's hardly a buyer's market, the people involved with it - the owner list etc. - makes it a 'if you have to ask you almost certainly can't afford' thing.
Edited by 405dogvan on Thursday 13th August 22:00
405dogvan said:
They don't come-up often for sale - when they do they're almost always PoA but I know a bloke who knows a bloke who seriously enquired about one early last year and was met with a demand for a figure not a kick-in-the-arse off £200k - the car was far from mint (from what he said) and prices have not dropped in that time.
Obviously that's one anecdote of one person selling one car - but it's hardly a buyer's market, the people involved with it - the owner list etc. - makes it a 'if you have to ask you almost certainly can't afford' thing.
He should have bought the one that sold for less than US$100k late last year. The car was in Florida but widely advertised. Even with import costs and VAT it would be less than half the figure you quoted.Obviously that's one anecdote of one person selling one car - but it's hardly a buyer's market, the people involved with it - the owner list etc. - makes it a 'if you have to ask you almost certainly can't afford' thing.
Edited by 405dogvan on Thursday 13th August 22:00
So about as practical as a motorbike (no roof, no storage, passenger sits behind), without being as quick and ten times as expensive nor as easy to park (and you can't filter).
I do like the idea but a secondhand Caterham R400 would be as much fun to drive and a fraction of the price.
I do like the idea but a secondhand Caterham R400 would be as much fun to drive and a fraction of the price.
)I've shown these pics on PH before, but this seems like a good thread in which to show them again...
My Rocket is one of the second "batch". It is one of two cars with a larger fuel tank where the rear passenger seat would normally be.
When I had these photos done, I put them together into a photo book and gave two copies to Chris Craft. One copy I asked Chris to send to Gordon Murray. A few weeks later I received a postcard in the post from the man himself, which I treasure almost as much as the car. I admire Gordon Murray's philosophy of lightweight, supple road cars enormously and of course the F1 is rightly lauded as one of the greatest cars of all time.
This is the larger fuel cell, that sits behind the driver's seat.
The Weismann transaxle, that provides low and high range, as well as a reverse. This is a car that theoretically will go over 100mph in reverse!
The front headlights tuck away behind the bodywork when not is use.
The perfect steering wheel.
The postcard from Gordon Murray.
Finally, here's a short (not that exciting!) video of a drive in the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeE0G13y9bk
My Rocket is one of the second "batch". It is one of two cars with a larger fuel tank where the rear passenger seat would normally be.
When I had these photos done, I put them together into a photo book and gave two copies to Chris Craft. One copy I asked Chris to send to Gordon Murray. A few weeks later I received a postcard in the post from the man himself, which I treasure almost as much as the car. I admire Gordon Murray's philosophy of lightweight, supple road cars enormously and of course the F1 is rightly lauded as one of the greatest cars of all time.
This is the larger fuel cell, that sits behind the driver's seat.
The Weismann transaxle, that provides low and high range, as well as a reverse. This is a car that theoretically will go over 100mph in reverse!
The front headlights tuck away behind the bodywork when not is use.
The perfect steering wheel.
The postcard from Gordon Murray.
Finally, here's a short (not that exciting!) video of a drive in the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeE0G13y9bk
Esceptico said:
So about as practical as a motorbike (no roof, no storage, passenger sits behind), without being as quick...
Maybe not in a straight line but substantially quicker round corners. You don't buy a car like this to go fast in straight lines anyway.Agree on the Caterham point though and nowadays there's a wealth of sub-500kg bike engined cars around for a fraction of the price that offer similar thrills (and they really are thrilling) so you'd only really buy this for the uniqueness.
If the 50s F1 style appeals, I was up at Tiger recently getting some work done on my MNR and saw this in their brochure...
I think it's a better looking proposition but not sure if you could make it road legal.
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