Westfields XTR2

Author
Discussion

jamieheasman

Original Poster:

823 posts

284 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
I'm thinking of purchasing one of these in kit form and shipping it to New Zealand. However, Hyabusa engines are a bit thin on the ground over here and I don't fancy spending 5k on a new engine.

Does anyone know how different the GSXR-1300 engine is to the older GSXR-1100 engine? There are shed-loads of GSXR-1100 engines here and with a bit of tweaking it will produce similar power/torque.

Cheers!

CoramLMP

163 posts

263 months

Wednesday 8th May 2002
quotequote all
Jamie,

Wouldn't you prefer one of our cars? The chassis can accomodate any bike engine and will even take V6 or V8 powerplants...

Check it out at: www.coram-automotive.com

Oh! And it's cheaper.

Best Regards,

Steve Turner
Director
Coram Automotive Ltd.

jamieheasman

Original Poster:

823 posts

284 months

Wednesday 8th May 2002
quotequote all
I don't know Steve, all I've seen is a drawing and a vague spec'. Do you have pictures of the prototype and a detailed price list.

Whilst a V8 is always nice (and I've got a 5.1litre 400bhp Rover V8 sat around) I'm really very keen on the motorcycle engine, sequential gearbox thing. I've owned several TVRs and will always want one for the V8 fun factor, but this would be a commuting car! Seriously, I aim to drive the car to and from work as an alternative to my Yamaha R1 which I gave up after my first daughter was born! I've driven a couple of NZ grown motorcyle engined cars and one in particular was very impressive, unfortunately it was a track only machine. The reliability issue with these mechanicals is high on the list, as is the cheaper servicing costs.

I'll email you my details via your website if you'd like to send me some further information.

Cheers

Jamie

JSG

2,238 posts

283 months

Wednesday 8th May 2002
quotequote all
Steve,

Nice site and an interesting car, but please don't start hijacking all the threads with adverts.

There is a policy against 'multiple thread posts' and a seperate section for advertising. Other companies may get hacked off if they feel they products can't be discussed without you jumping in on the thread.

A number of the members here are very interested in the low volume car manufacturers, inluding bike engined cars and there have been many fruitful threads offering feedback to people in a similar position to your self.

If you post your info in the relevant section I'm sure you will get as much feedback as you can handle - and once you've got a working prototype you could bring it along to a meet and get live opimions.

I wish your company the best of luck - the more small British car manufacturers the better in my opinion.

Cheers,
JSG.

CoramLMP

163 posts

263 months

Thursday 9th May 2002
quotequote all
OK, point taken. What's the best group for plugging our 'wares'?!

We don't want to upset anyone and being new to this 'forum' thing we're a little bit clumsy with how we should post and where it should be posted - if you know what I mean!

Thanks for the advice, we'll watch our step in future.

Steve.

Stig

11,817 posts

284 months

Thursday 9th May 2002
quotequote all
Steve,

I think that most people on Pistonheads know about the Coram (and some of us before that!).

Personally - I'm interested in going this route aswell as I already race a home-built Locost but want to move to bike power.

As far as web advertising goes, I think you've got a strong product as far as styling goes (better looking than the Westie and on a par with the Radical SR3) - what people want now are hard facts, details, photo's of the finished product and ultimately, test drive reports.

People aren't going to hand over the cash readily as it's still a fair wedge for what to most will be a 'fun' car. Look at Strathcarron and see how many people got their fingers burnt!

I think you'd be best off using this list/Pistonheads to give regular updates on your development progress as advertising (of spam as we call it) will get you at the best, flamed (shouted at) or just deleted.

Personally, I'll be watching with great interest.

Cheers!

JSG

2,238 posts

283 months

Thursday 9th May 2002
quotequote all
quote:

OK, point taken. What's the best group for plugging our 'wares'?!


Steve,

I would suggest either this one, Bike Powered or Kit Cars are the forums to post on. If you read through some of the previous threads you will see examples of other companies asking for / receiving comments.

Most of the members here read all threads so they will still see your posts, many of us hanker after a track day car even if we drive ordinary cars like our TVRs

Please continue to post, my comments yesterday were only aimed at guiding you through the PistonHeads 'protocol'.

Cheers,
JSG.

PetrolTed

34,425 posts

303 months

Thursday 9th May 2002
quotequote all
quote:

OK, point taken. What's the best group for plugging our 'wares'?!

Steve,

Keep us up to date with editorial/news of the project and that will feed into the forums as people comment on the stories. Send away to news@pistonheads.com

CoramLMP

163 posts

263 months

Friday 10th May 2002
quotequote all
Thanks for for the useful comments, guys. We don't want to be associated with spam in any shape or form, so we'll be sure to be more careful in future.

We do think this forum is excellent though and have been reading the other threads relating to Radical, XTR2 and Strathcarron with great interest.

I was actually working at Reynard when the Strathcarron was being designed and thought that it was a fantastic concept then. Maybe it was ahead of its time??

However, rest assured we will keep you all up to date on our progress in the coming months - which are going to be hectic! All that test driving and suspension development work to do... What a bind!

We'll be putting more pictures on our site in the lead up to launch, however engineering work on the car has slowed to a crawl as we prepare to move location. So we're not keen on showing an almost finished car in a workshop that's in disarray because it doesn't relect who we are and may in fact put customers off. Shudder the thought...

Steve.

ross

219 posts

284 months

Monday 17th June 2002
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jamie your mad to go for one of these as a commuting car. what you want is a caterham blackbird!

Roadrunner

2,690 posts

267 months

Sunday 7th July 2002
quotequote all
Coram, tempting looking car. I like the flexible engine options - must be a USP. A thumping V8 and 500kg would be an experience.

One thing though, how about a version with a fixed carbon roof? The engine air intake could be restyled to run smoothly over the top - McF1 style. With this one extra moulding you may well increase sales by a large magnitude. If you were to look at ultima's hard top gtr offering, I bet they sell ten times the number of those compared to the open version. I know your car is a trackday tool, but the fact is most people want a cross over car that's street legal and practical(ish).

Look at what people on here want. Loads of people would order an ultima gtr if it wasn't for the finished turn key price of 70k. Loads of people are screaming out for an elise with a v6/v8 engine too. There's a massive gap in the market for a 40k gtr. The first company to offer one will clear up and make a killing.

ultimapaul

3,937 posts

264 months

Sunday 7th July 2002
quotequote all
Roadrunner - I get your point, yes the Ultima is a £70k turn key car, but, £40k will get you into a very similar standard home built car! What is needed is a £40k turn key car and/or a true £20-25k home build giving a driving experience like the Ultima.

How this could be done and still keep the quality as high is the hard part .... as you say, the first to crack it will clean up.

Heres hoping. (I'll just have to live with the GTR in the mean time)

Paul

ultimapaul

3,937 posts

264 months

Sunday 7th July 2002
quotequote all
Steve (at Corum) ..... Please get your web site sorted ... I am looking at this kind of car as a possible next project, I hope your car is designed better than your site.

Good luck with the car, I'd like to see more details of it when your at the stage to show the final product.

PS, if it's a case of my PC not being able to cope with your site then I appologise now, if it is a web page problem ........ SORT IT.

Paul

joesmith1555

4 posts

261 months

Thursday 11th July 2002
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Yes, yes, yes. Exactly what roadrunner said. I love the ultima but it is priced out of my options. What I am looking for is a hard top car in a style very similar to the ultima. However I would like it a little smaller and lighter. More in the 650 to 700kg range instead of the 1000kg. Hopefully this would help reduce cost as it could use a honda motor or even a mazda rotory instead of a V8 for similar performance. Similar to the idea of the lotus seven but with a hard top and current day looks. If anyone knows of any kitcars that fit this descrption please let me know. Otherwise I might have to wait untill someone produces one.

d3vine

699 posts

268 months

Thursday 11th July 2002
quotequote all

Try K1-Styling's, Attack...

www.k1-styling.sk

Affordable, lightweight, and accepts engines of any sizes from 4-8 cyl.

PetrolTed

34,425 posts

303 months

Thursday 11th July 2002
quotequote all
We should have a test of the XTR2 in the next few weeks.

joesmith1555

4 posts

261 months

Friday 12th July 2002
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I like the concept and price of the attack but it is not a hard top car. I live in a very wet climate so a waterproof car is very important to me. Also it remains to be seen how the handling will compare to a custom built double wishbone setup. Hopefully they will let one of the car magazines run full tests on it soon.

As for the xtr2 again it is not a coupe. Also in my opinion it doesn't have the looks or style of the ultima.

Any other suggestions?

d3vine

699 posts

268 months

Friday 12th July 2002
quotequote all

For an additional $2900, you get an optional soft top that provides waterproof, temperature/noise isolation, and temper proof.

If you purchase the car within the special offer time period, you get the soft top for free.

i really think the car looks superb, however, it hasn't been tested for its reliability, performance, and handling yet. Once it has establish those requirements and shown its qualities and values then it would be worth buying.

CoramLMP

163 posts

263 months

Saturday 13th July 2002
quotequote all
We've been having big trouble with our host server - the forum, questionairre and feedback form disappearing/inconsistent, and some people are having problems with the site download - including us!! I'll pass your comments directly to our web designer, we do need to get this sorted as more and more people are having problems. I'll let you know when things should be improved.

BTW, what are your system and software (WIN95/98/2000/XP) details?

Steve.

quote:

Steve (at Corum) ..... Please get your web site sorted ... I am looking at this kind of car as a possible next project, I hope your car is designed better than your site.

Good luck with the car, I'd like to see more details of it when your at the stage to show the final product.

PS, if it's a case of my PC not being able to cope with your site then I appologise now, if it is a web page problem ........ SORT IT.

Paul

ultimapaul

3,937 posts

264 months

Saturday 13th July 2002
quotequote all
Steve - I'm running Win '98 and AOL. The PC is a Celeron 700 I think with about 250 odd meg of RAM. Shouldn't be a problem there then!

Good luck.

Paul.