Five months after it beat Ford's Bronco R with its 2019 Boot at the Baja 1000, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has announced that it's developing a kit car version of the off-roader, with company boss James Glickenhaus telling PH that it could cost under $100,000 (£80k) - less than half the price of the Baja winner. An early rendering of the SCG 008 - or 004/Mini Boot, as it's known internally - shows how it will meld an exterior inspired by the 004 sports car onto a Boot-like frame, with all of the bits set to be available individually via the company's web store in about "a year from now", according to Mr Glickenhaus.
Everything barring an engine and transaxle will be offered by SCG, leaving the door open to some pretty creative power solutions. SCG has, however, stated on the Facebook and Instagram preview posts that the setup has been developed with GM's 2.2-litre Ecotec crate engine and a Sadev transaxle in mind. But when the same firm offers a V8 alternative - and there's so much choice out there on the market - don't be surprised to see 008s powered by very different solutions. SCG is intending to offer both two and four-wheel drive hardware, while making the combined setup eligible for the Baja 1000, Paris-Dakar and other, similar races.
That's quite the proposition for something you can build in the shed or garage, especially if SCG does indeed manage to keep the total kit cost below the $100k mark. Don't forget, this is an American firm that's accustomed to producing motorsport-derived models priced well over a quarter of a million pounds (and one upcoming Le Mans Hypercar racer). It's a totally new direction of business, one the firm says is inspired by the Lotus/Caterham Seven DIY philosophy. That being said, if the builder wants to up their spend they'll likely be free to go for the whole hog and adds extras such as the spare wheel, LED lighting and winch, as shown on the rendered car...
But with these parts being available individually on the store, there's nothing stopping someone handy with the spanners to build their car in stages over a period of time. Indeed, SCG says the car parts will be offered in instalments, with all components certified by US kit car regulations. That means a properly built 008 can be road legal, although there's presumably also nothing stopping you from turning things up further and creating a hardcore competition-focussed version. The space for creativity in something like this is certainly exciting. On that note, which engine would you opt for?
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