Thinking of buying a GTM Libra
Discussion
I am seriously tempted to buy a Libra. We're looking for a second car but it's got to be a it unusual/distinctive, quick, relatively trouble-free ( had a horrific time with minis). I see there are a couple advertised here for not a huge amount of money. Anything to look out for? At this point we could do with something we could jump in and drive without it needing to be in the shop all the time. The Libra seems to be one of the better thought out designs there are. If any GTM Libra owners would care to enlighten me a bit more on living with this fascinating marque before I take the plunge it would be greatly appreciated.
Malc
Malc
Have a look here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I don't think there would be any problem using a Libra as you describe. Sadly due to complicated circumstances I don't get to drive mine much these days, but when I do...f
k it's fun!!
There are plenty of GTM owners who do drive their Libras (and Spyders) all the time. The Libra has good luggage space (for a small car) and a very big cabin compared to the Elise.
It's rarity makes people turn and watch you pass when they wouldn't give an Elise a second look. I've never tracked mine, but it's nicer to ride in on the road than an Elise although I doubt it handles quite as well as some of the Elises I have driven on a track.
Reliability?
Should be great, unless built my a fool....
k it's fun!!There are plenty of GTM owners who do drive their Libras (and Spyders) all the time. The Libra has good luggage space (for a small car) and a very big cabin compared to the Elise.
It's rarity makes people turn and watch you pass when they wouldn't give an Elise a second look. I've never tracked mine, but it's nicer to ride in on the road than an Elise although I doubt it handles quite as well as some of the Elises I have driven on a track.
Reliability?
Should be great, unless built my a fool....
I had a Libra for two years, and it was our only car for a couple of months. I drove it around France , Germany and Belgium with no problems. Fantastic car, very similar in concept to an Elise but better luggage space. As stated, if you drove an Elise and a Libra down the road together nobody notices the Elise! Mine was painted Lamborghini yellow though... Having just driven 2 Elises on a trackday i can give a bit of a comparision. In a straight line, my VVC was at least as fast as a Sport 160 Elise (Libra is lighter as long as the builder did not go crazy with sound deadening and stereo ect). But handling on track was not quite as honed as the Elise, as you would expect of a developed Lotus. Saying that, i do my trackdays with Lotus-on-Track and always ran with Elises. Provided you are comfotable with a little oversteer you can drive them PDQ. It did Brands Indy in about 58 seconds in road trim, so it is fast enough to be fun. On the road though they are great, provided they are set up and tracked properly (Talon Sportscars are the guys). Only peoblem I had was the early balljoint rear suspension breaking, but this is also a fault on Elises where they break rear toe-in links giving the same results... Seems to be, budget to change them every 3 years or so, less than £100 for the parts. There is later suspension which cured this, but it is not really an issue if you are aware and maintain the car, just like the Lotus. I would definately have another one which is probobly a good test of a kit car. There is also a "gay" version, Spyder9 can give you the info on that one! ;-)
TeamGTM is indeed very active.
I know it's difficult to get a feel for it without accessing the forums, but essentially there is a really good mix of knowledgeable people who can answer most questions in a matter of hours.
In addition we have a good attendance at Kit Car shows (Stoneleigh in particular) where we have a good relationship with the GTMOC and the other clubs...
Add in organisation of various runs and trackdays and stuff and it's well worth the money (I reckon).
I know it's difficult to get a feel for it without accessing the forums, but essentially there is a really good mix of knowledgeable people who can answer most questions in a matter of hours.
In addition we have a good attendance at Kit Car shows (Stoneleigh in particular) where we have a good relationship with the GTMOC and the other clubs...
Add in organisation of various runs and trackdays and stuff and it's well worth the money (I reckon).
Furyblade_Lee said:
I had a Libra for two years, and it was our only car for a couple of months. I drove it around France , Germany and Belgium with no problems. Fantastic car, very similar in concept to an Elise but better luggage space. As stated, if you drove an Elise and a Libra down the road together nobody notices the Elise! Mine was painted Lamborghini yellow though... Having just driven 2 Elises on a trackday i can give a bit of a comparision. In a straight line, my VVC was at least as fast as a Sport 160 Elise (Libra is lighter as long as the builder did not go crazy with sound deadening and stereo ect). But handling on track was not quite as honed as the Elise, as you would expect of a developed Lotus. Saying that, i do my trackdays with Lotus-on-Track and always ran with Elises. Provided you are comfotable with a little oversteer you can drive them PDQ. It did Brands Indy in about 58 seconds in road trim, so it is fast enough to be fun. On the road though they are great, provided they are set up and tracked properly (Talon Sportscars are the guys). Only peoblem I had was the early balljoint rear suspension breaking, but this is also a fault on Elises where they break rear toe-in links giving the same results... Seems to be, budget to change them every 3 years or so, less than £100 for the parts. There is later suspension which cured this, but it is not really an issue if you are aware and maintain the car, just like the Lotus. I would definately have another one which is probobly a good test of a kit car. There is also a "gay" version, Spyder9 can give you the info on that one! ;-)
This would be more for road driving. We will probably be moving to Northumberland in the not too distant and running it as a second car. Should be fun, the driving up there is just fantastic. Actually I was put on to GTM by my mini man Paul Hebden in Croydon - he knows the owner. Paul is a bit of a wizard with setups so I'd get him to do it I think. He manged to dial all of the bump steer out of my mpi mini, something which was not thought possible! I was tempted by the Talon Metro as well but the wife says there's no way she's having a Metro! Lol.A few weekends ago I went with several other Libra/spyders to Zolder.
I don't know of any other kit car which is well suited to both cruising the 350 miles there, two days and 400 miles on track, and cruising back again.
Like many kit cars, compared with most road cars it's fast. It is also fun, and good looking. I've got a Libra because I wanted to build a car, I wanted to do track days, and I want to just get in, shut the door and get the shopping. It's good at it all. More spacious and easier to get in than the Elise, and more exclusive.
I don't know of any other kit car which is well suited to both cruising the 350 miles there, two days and 400 miles on track, and cruising back again.
Like many kit cars, compared with most road cars it's fast. It is also fun, and good looking. I've got a Libra because I wanted to build a car, I wanted to do track days, and I want to just get in, shut the door and get the shopping. It's good at it all. More spacious and easier to get in than the Elise, and more exclusive.
Malc, Paul Hebden is a good mate of mine, I used to race grasstrack Mini's against him 20 years ago, and he comes skiing with us. Paul did a GTM rolling road day at his place for us, which was great fun as he let us operate his rolling road ourselves! He in fact saved the day when one of our GTM's broke down right at the start of our Alps trip this year. Recovered it back to him, and half an hour later it was all sorted. He is also able to work on GTM's as he is a bit of a K-series / Rover specialist as you know.
Paul really did save the day!
I did a 2700 mile Alps trip this year and the Zolder 2 day track event. The car did it without any real mishaps, apart from the help from Paul when a plug to the fuel pump decided to give up.
I love it and as Paul says you can drive across Europe, do a track day, drive home again no problems. You can even carry enough luggage for 2 people for a week. It's dead easy to work on as the front and rear body work hinges up and can be removed if required in 10 mins.
As Lee says on track it's a match for an Elise but an Exige is faster. Insurance is miles cheaper though (£200 ish)and of course it's more exclusive.
Just make sure you get one with the right front!
Oh and join TGTM!
I did a 2700 mile Alps trip this year and the Zolder 2 day track event. The car did it without any real mishaps, apart from the help from Paul when a plug to the fuel pump decided to give up.
I love it and as Paul says you can drive across Europe, do a track day, drive home again no problems. You can even carry enough luggage for 2 people for a week. It's dead easy to work on as the front and rear body work hinges up and can be removed if required in 10 mins.
As Lee says on track it's a match for an Elise but an Exige is faster. Insurance is miles cheaper though (£200 ish)and of course it's more exclusive.
Just make sure you get one with the right front!
Oh and join TGTM!
Furyblade_Lee said:
Malc, Paul Hebden is a good mate of mine, I used to race grasstrack Mini's against him 20 years ago, and he comes skiing with us. Paul did a GTM rolling road day at his place for us, which was great fun as he let us operate his rolling road ourselves! He in fact saved the day when one of our GTM's broke down right at the start of our Alps trip this year. Recovered it back to him, and half an hour later it was all sorted. He is also able to work on GTM's as he is a bit of a K-series / Rover specialist as you know.
That was realy good doing the rolling road runs ourselves, he also talked us through how it all works and spent quite a bit of time finding out why my car was down on power and it turned out to be down on fuel pressure. Very clever bloke.malc_di said:
Yes Paul is a top chap no question. I joined Team GTM but so far the login for the forum isn't working 
Not great but I expect it'll be sorted some time tomorrow. Hoping to clap eyes on this Libra before long. It's this one
It has to be manually activated. I will give the keeper of the key a quick mail. Not great but I expect it'll be sorted some time tomorrow. Hoping to clap eyes on this Libra before long. It's this oneGassing Station | Kit Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff