RE: Road Legal Track Toy Aims At Ariel
Discussion
renrut said:
My thoughts exactly. If it could crack 200mph or 300km/h then maybe it can justify a massive price hike over the competition but 174 isn't even one of those headline numbers.
Similarly I'd have thought a lighter smaller engine would have been a better option for a single seater. A high revving 1.6 or 1.8 would be more than enough and still get silly performance and they could use an off the shelf item like the 1.6 toyota are supplying for the elise. in something half the weight of an elise it would be awesome.
You would struggle to find a 1.6 or 1.8 dry sumped 4 pot with the power and torque of that Formula Atlantic sourced unit in Mono.Similarly I'd have thought a lighter smaller engine would have been a better option for a single seater. A high revving 1.6 or 1.8 would be more than enough and still get silly performance and they could use an off the shelf item like the 1.6 toyota are supplying for the elise. in something half the weight of an elise it would be awesome.
bruh_la said:
Coz the moment you make space for a passenger you compromise the total weight of the car, you upset the balance of the car and compromise suspension geometry in order to have a wider chassis.
Mono is about a compromise free experience, its clearly a niche within the trackday car niche, but just like there are people who buy one seat bikes, there will be people who may already have two seater sports cars but want what is basically an F3 car that can be driven to and from the track.
I'm not so sure it is. The car is already as wide as a "normal" 2-seat car and certaily it appears (in the pics) to be wider than both an Atom & Caterham, so the sizing doesn't seem to be an issue. As for weight distribution, anyone who is that sensitive to such things and looks for perfect balance in a track car, is going to have a proper track car, not a compromised road car that can be used on track. On normal bumpy, bouncy, roads, it's even less significant.Mono is about a compromise free experience, its clearly a niche within the trackday car niche, but just like there are people who buy one seat bikes, there will be people who may already have two seater sports cars but want what is basically an F3 car that can be driven to and from the track.
While clearly the Mono is more focussed than many cars, it's certainly not compromise free, otherwise, it wouldn't be a road car, it wouldn't be weighed down with lights etc, would have better aero, etc, etc.
As I say, fantastic car, definately not as focussed as it could be to really carve a niche and justify it's high price.
FlossyThePig said:
Kit car world gets there first
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Yep...http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Corsair7 said:
...when you see something like the Renault that didnt have a screen, its being driven slow because it just isn't a very fast car and they're usually bought as fashion accessories by ghey people......
EFA 
...and the UK market ones do have windscreens, anyway, which rather proves my point.
Personally, I'd never buy a seriously focussed road/track-oriented car with a
king great airbrakeEdited by Sam_68 on Wednesday 16th March 15:36
I wa at the global launch in January - http://thingstodoinmarbella.com/Things_to_do_in_Ma...
Very nice looking extreme car for those with deep pockets.
Very nice looking extreme car for those with deep pockets.
Loads more photos here - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=...
bruh_la said:
coz the atom is slower on road and track?
?? How do you work that out? Aside from the fact that the one and only Mono prototype hasn't been tested on a track with it's peers yet, it's power to weight ratio is almost identical and the few projected performance stats put it right on a par with the like of Atom, Cat R500, 300bhp KTM, etc.In practice all of the above mentioned cars will be within a gnat's cock of each other and none of them would trounce the other. There's a Rizzla paper between then.
Is tandem seating the solution to this "problem". I agree that a single seater is seriously compromised for any road use even if it's just for nipping down the shops and somewhere to throw your sainsbury's bag! Not struck on the idea of passing comments on a "car" that only exists as a set of equations and some good intentions.
Or maybe that's the idea, perhaps this will make them think again and re-engineer the car for two?
Or maybe that's the idea, perhaps this will make them think again and re-engineer the car for two?
Single seater and 540kg ?
Hardly that lightweight is it?
I'm sure anyone with pockets deep enough to buy this, someone who wanted to sacrifice fun for laptimes - they'd surely be eyeing up a Radical or similar? On the road what can it offer that a multitude of kitcars, caterhams, aerials, etc. can't already do AND with room for a mate?
Now, if it was properly clever - 150mpg... or 300 miles on an electric charge with a 15minutes recharge. Then they'd have the USP that justifies a ludicrous price tag.
Hardly that lightweight is it?
I'm sure anyone with pockets deep enough to buy this, someone who wanted to sacrifice fun for laptimes - they'd surely be eyeing up a Radical or similar? On the road what can it offer that a multitude of kitcars, caterhams, aerials, etc. can't already do AND with room for a mate?
Now, if it was properly clever - 150mpg... or 300 miles on an electric charge with a 15minutes recharge. Then they'd have the USP that justifies a ludicrous price tag.
I really don't understand the point of cars like this, including the Caparo. Impractical and pretty useless on the road, not eligible for racing, track-days would be spent queuing behind other cars without ever getting a decent lap, and to cap it all off a Formula Ford for a fraction of the price would be just as quick on many tracks and eligible for racing.
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