Extreme WOW!

It used to look like this, honest!

But now, wow!

I’ve already wrote about two kits from Extreme Sportscars, and concluded that the Extreme 360 is one of the best there are. There is one that is better yet, and it comes from the same company - the Extreme Murci.

If you think I am favoring this company, I’m not. I just need yet to see a better kit. I’m not saying that there aren’t any out there, I’m just saying that I haven’t seen any. But it would take quite a lot of persuasion to even skew my mind a bit about this one. Park it next to the Lamborghini Murcielago, one of the motoring finest, and you know what - you will be hard pressed to spot a difference. Like with all replicas, you will be able to spot wheel spacers and small brakes and yes, the interior won’t be the Lamborghini one, but besides that, you know what else is different? The exhaust muffler tips protrude a bit more than on the original. That’s it! Seriously! It’s an exact replica! No one would be able to guess that, underneath; it’s just a Mk2 Toyota MR2!

Now, it probably sounds weird that such a small car can be a decent donor for the Murcielago replica. And it is. That’s why they stretched the small Toyota quite a lot. The representative car also had its 2 liter engine tuned to 400bhp (not something I would do, especially if driving it every day - a V6 swap would be much better choice for me, thank you very much). But still, man, it looks real!

All that work does come at a price though, and this isn’t really cheap bit of kit. Still, it’s cheap to drive, and ways cheaper to make than to buy even the cheapest second-hand original. It still drives like a Toyota, but you will sure look good while driving it.

Oh, and one more thing, did I say how good it looks already?

Extreme 360

Let's face it, it was never an ugly car

But now, it's just stunning

Most of you have seen a Ferrari 360 Modena at least once in your lifetime. Someone important, or simply rich, drove by, and sure, you wished that car for yourself. I know I did. Wishing didn’t make me a millionaire, though.

For those of you that are actually chasing the driving dynamics of a 360, look the other way. This is not written for you. Those of you that want just those gorgeous lines, keep reading.

The Extreme 360 is a kit manufactured by the Extreme Sportscars. And for sure, this is the most exact kit you can find. If you look at them, standing next to each other, you can’t really spot the difference. Well, OK, you can, if you look at the interior, or the small brakes and huge spacers, but honestly, this thing really looks like a proper Ferrari.

The way that’s been achieved is simple - the company looked out of the box. They were searching for an appropriate donor, but as much as they looked, there was no RWD car with similar proportions. This is where the ‘out of the box thinking” kicks in - they checked out the FWD coupes, and bingo, they found their donor - a Peugeot 406 coupe.

The 406 is a relatively nice car to drive. Not overly sporty, comfortable, but with similar length and windscreen width as the 360. A good looking car in my opinion, and kind of a shame to chop, but hey, it’s a matter of taste, right? I’ve seen one of those tuned with nothing but a big, ugly front bumper, and everything else stock! So, find one like that, already ruined, and save a nice looking car from shame.

The chopping procedure is complicated. Can you imagine then what the assembly procedure looks like? No? Well, we’ll start from bending the roof, welding steel to connect it all, and basically shopping up the whole front of the car to fit the kit. It is a really complex procedure. You can choose to preserve the back seats, but with the roof already so low down, better just get those out, and get the fake engine cover in. It will look way more authentic, and those rear seats won’t really be usable anymore. You want the looks? Be prepared for the compromises.

I don’t really like the fact that the car drives the front wheels. Just imagine the embarrassment, you are on a wet road, the lights go green, and your blood red Ferrari starts like a dart, making a cloud of smoke with it’s front... Hey, is that guy’s Ferrari burning the rubber on it’s FRONT wheels? What the heck? Ugh. Not really my first choice. Still, if you are careful about those fast starts, you can still save your pride, and be driving around in one of the finest replicas in the world.

Oh, one last thing for the end - Extreme Sportscars did build the one with two engines. Yes, two! One 3 liter V6 in the front driving the front wheels, and one in the back, driving the rear wheels! That car had about the same amount of power as the original, the fake engine cover in the back, a lot of noise, and great traction. And it was expensive - actually, more expensive than buying an used 360. But hey, if you want only the looks, they don’t get much better than this.

The one with the ugly wheels is a replica, of course

The manufacturer website can be found here.

Toyota DNA, Ferrari facelift

A tad ugly, but effective

Ah, now it looks better

How many of you would love to own a Ferrari? You don’t need to answer, since you are reading this, you are, as I am, a total car nut. And how many of you do own a Ferrari? If you do, this probably isn’t a text for you. This is a text made for those who want a poor man’s Ferrari, a Ferrari replica. A car that will bear those dashing Ferrari looks, and still remain affordable. That’s what DNA kits can give you.

The DNA Automotive has two kits in their arsenal - the 3Sixty and 4Thirty. you’ve guessed it, the 3Sixty is a 360 Modena replica, and the 4Thirty is a F430 replica. And they both use an inexpensive car as a donor - a last-gen Toyota MR2.

The small roadster is well known for it’s good handling abilities, and the great small two-seater mid engined roadster dynamics. Not that much for it’s dashing good looks, though. It is kind of an ugly duckling this one. Huge fun on the inside, not so fun when you look at it. A perfect donor.

The DNA kits are known to be easy to fit. When I say easy, I don’t really imply you won’t have to cut anything - sure you will, and those wheels will still need spacers and reworked lower arms. Fitting all to the car will be a bit complicated for the inexperienced, but for a seasoned builder, it will be a cinch. The cutting really is brought to a minimum (a bit of door chopping and trimming), and the realism of the kit is pretty amazing - the proportions are quite astonishing. Also, they do offer replica steering wheels and seats, replica wheels (you can put on the original Ferrari ones, but that will cost you the ouch amount), and you will have to source your own badges. The brakes can remain standard, and there is option of putting in fake brake inserts (invisible from far away, not that pretty when you take a closer look - or see them spinning with a car at slower speeds). If done in a good finish, with matching roof and interior colors, most people will be fooled that you drive a real Ferrari.

Of course, there are bad sides. The one that bugs me the most is the engine bay - both 360 and F430 have glass covers that show off that beautiful V8. Here though, you can either leave it painted in the body color, or put a sticker on it. You can’t really fabricate any kind of a fake cover. Everything can be done in theory, but not in practice. Toyota has a small engine, structural beam and a small boot behind it. Ferrari is longer and doesn’t. Faking this is just not an option.

The other thing that you can’t fake is the performance and the engine sound. It’s hard and very expensive to squeeze out more than 200bhp in this particular car, and no matter what you do with the exhaust, it will still be a small flat four.

On the looks front though, it is pretty unbeatable. You can get more realistic replicas, but it would involve more work and more money. There are some replicas that even involve more work, and still don’t look this good. With all the panels fitting great, the bumpers made as separate pieces and not the part of the moulded slab of plastic, the rather correct proportions, you won’t be able to notice much differences from the most angles. Sure, the windscreen is taller, but unless you park it next to the real Ferrari, most people will never spot any differences. It’s not a real Ferrari, it’s a replica, and a darn good one too.

Westfield SE

So it's a V8, but what can I do, I like the V8

The Westfield Sportscars is one more UK based company that builds cars for the fans, the masses, and those people that just enjoy driving to the fullest. In other words, bone shattering, noisy, basic, ridiculous, unpractical, this-shouldn’t-be-legal injections of speed and adrenaline.

The factory, or better the company, used to produce a D-type Jaguar lookalike, and their own, Hayabusa-powered XTR, but discontinued both. Now, they offer only the SE, one of the omnipopular Lotus 7 replicas, and actually one of the fine ones.

Let me remind those who don’t know, decent Lotus 7 replicas are respected for their no-nonsense, track oriented setup and exceedingly light weight. When I say exceedingly light, I mean I can’t think of any road going car that weighs this little. Even the new Lotuses are way bulkier than this. So it shouldn't surprise you that this car is very fast, even in it’s basic, 135bhp trim. And that is just a basic trim. It can go up to 200bhp, and it can come even with a small-but-oh-so-light Hayabusa engine. That one’s not a daily driver, that’s for sure. It’s a thoroughbred racing machine, that can put to shame many rare, expensive, big-brand cars on the racetrack. And all that with a small, 1.3 liter, 178bhp bike engine!

It’s not so fun on the normal road, though. The bike engines just can’t cope with the increased weight (it’s still a lot heavier than a motorbike), it just lacks torque and the low range pull. For that, the 2 liter, 200bhp Ford engine is a much better bet. It pulls from low down, goes like stink, and can still put to shame plenty of those big boys. Does feel kind of small with several trucks around it though, but still, once you get it on the move, you just don’t care. No one said it was made for driving groceries, anyway. It’s just one of the cheapest thrills you can get on four wheels. Get a curvy road, and let it rip - if it doesn’t make you smile and sometimes laugh hysterically (or scream, choose your favorite here), you are made of stone.

I had to leave my personal favorite for the last though. It’s the lazier , less loved offspring - the V8. Many argue that bolting a Rover V8 into this lightweight chassis is just blasphemy, but in my opinion, it just gives some diversity in this crowded category. It can’t be seen on their website, but they did build them, and I’m sure they would still produce one, if you asked them nicely. The torquey V8, with softer springs and a bit more luxury, could even get you a decent trip, without causing you bad back, while still packing a wallop of punch. It’s not really that hardcore, true, but it does offer some basic practicality and comfort, and you just can’t tell me it doesn’t offer a nice amount of fun. I know I like it.

So, as yo can see, there are quite a few models to pick from, and as with all kit cars, you can assemble them yourself, leaving some kind of personal mark on them. It can sometimes prove to be more expensive than buying a finished product, but I guarantee you that even that small part will give you the amount of joy you can’t even imagine!

Extreme 355 - maybe a fake, but I love it

This is one of my favorite replicas in the whole wide world - the Extreme 355. It was the company’s first, and they have evolved much since then, but still, it has a special place for me. There are many reasons for it, and I will try to explain you why.

The Extreme Sportscars are known for the visually almost identical replicas. If they make one, you will be hard pressed to notice a difference. Hell, only the most careful observer will spot any differences even if you get them parked next to the original. Those are some expensive modifications, though. It’s not the price of the kit, as much as the fact that you can’t build them yourself if you don’t really know what you are doing. The Extreme 355 is different, though.

As I said, it was the first model, in the era when the 355 was one of the favorite models to replicate. Back then, you could already get a Toyota MR2 Mk2 pretty cheap. Also, it was mid-engined, pretty similar in shape (kind of), and just waited for the right kit to arrive. Also, it could easily swallow a 3 liter V6, which gave it a lot more power and noise. It didn’t drive like a real deal, but it was really fun nevertheless. It can simply give you enough thrills on the winding roads.

In those times, Extreme Sportscars decided to make a simple kit, one that is easy to bolt on. It wasn’t exactly perfect, but exact enough. Sure, a Ferrari owner could easily spot the differences, like the A pillars being too tall and narrow, and even the persistent observer could spot the huge wheel spacers and small brakes. For most, though, it was another Ferrari. One more thing I love about it is, it had a metal engine cover - no need to cheat in some fake cover of disputable quality. Sure, the interior can’t really match the original, and sure, it is not absolutely the same as the original.

But you know what? Put in a decent V6, some interesting exhaust, and a proper paint job, and with relatively small amount of work, it will get darn close.

The manufacturer website can be found here.

Is it a bug? Is it a Hummer? No, it's a Wombat!

This is what it used to look like

There are many tastes, many kits, some more expensive, some less. What’s so nice is the fact that all of us can spec up our kit car the way we want it to be. There are no boundaries, the only limitation is our imagination. The car that I’m going to present today isn’t something that lacked in the imagination department.

Originally sold as Hummbug, and now known as Wombat (ah, those lawyers), this is an easy to assemble, easy to own, yet so special little car. It uses the simplest possible platform - the VW Beetle, yet it offers so much fun and confused looks that you wouldn’t believe. Yes guys, this is a buggy that looks like a Humvee.

It is small. Very small. And pretty basic. And so fun to drive. Everyone that ever drove a Beetle based buggy can testify that these cars are a total joy. And every good looking kit does draw attention. This one more than most, though.

And this is what it looks like now

You see, when you lose the heavy Beetle shell, and bolt on the lightweight, plastic one, it does start to move. And when you jack it up a little, put on some massive wheels, maybe even tune the engine a bit, it even becomes a rather capable off-roading monster. For me though, this car is mostly about the looks. The way it looks, the way the others look at it, and the way you look at it - it’s just priceless. There are summer packages (no doors or roof), or the all season packages (that do have the doors and roof). I wouldn’t consider it a serious winter machine though, but still, it’s a kit car, a car to enjoy and have fun with. And for those more eco-conscious among us, there is even the E-bat - the all-electric version. A bit slow for my personal taste, and a bit expensive to start with, but hey, not a small feat - an all-electric funmobile! Not as fast as Tesla though, but not nearly as expensive. And still a nice little piece of fun.

Quite a looker, don't you think?

The official presentation of the Wombat car company can be found here.

Caterham - the mother of all kit cars

The Daddy - Caterham 7

This is a blog that was created out of love for the kit car scene, so I thought it appropriate to start it off with the mother of all kit cars - the Caterham. This company makes multiple road-legal (sometimes barely) racing machines, and it has been doing so for ages.

The assortment is consisted of several models - SP300.R and the multiple variations of 7. The SP is a nice track machine, but the most kit car lovers among us had their hearts set on this scene thanks to the later, the grandpa kit car, the magnificent 7.

The original, Lotus 7, started its life way back in 1957, and was discontinued in 1973. The Caterham car company, then the major Lotus dealer, didn’t like the idea of their favorite model being discontinued, so they bought rights to produce this car. And they produced this car. And they are still producing it. If you just count the time, you’ll see that this car has been in production for over half a century. People usually finish schools in that time, get jobs, start working, work quite a lot of time, get kids, maybe even grand kids, see their kids through school, start wearing glasses, get big bellies, maybe even lumbago. Cars, on the other hand, are considered museum pieces, relics of the times long gone, prehistoric monument that shows us how far we’ve gotten since those old days, when the radio and carpets were the only luxuries in a car. Oh, I almost forgot, the window winders, too. Safer than a sliding piece of glass, that’s for sure.

But not this car. This one stayed basically unchanged for all these years, completely basic, completely utilitarian, and completely current. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this car is still among us, and still brings the thrill to the motorists around the world.

As I’ve already implied, the world has gone on since then, so the 7 had to be modernized. It got better brakes, a bit modified suspension with better shocks and dampers, more precise steering, better lights, better, more modern engines, yet its roof still leaks, its doors threaten to open at any speed above the pedestrian pace, it still rattles and threatens to send you to the dentist post haste. But that doesn’t mean the majority of people care about it. In fact, some people intentionally choose more powerful, more hardcore, even more racetrack oriented models. Oh, yes, the 7 has many models. From the entry level Classic, with its small, 1.4 liter 105bhp engine, to the most powerful, bad and mad, mind boggling CSR with 260bhp. To some this may not really sound like much, but when you are driving around in a car that weighs about as much as only one Humvee’s wheel, well, that can take you to some serious speeds. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t be able to enter the NASCAR with it. The aerodynamics are still a complete 50s design, and the top speed is far from bringing out the screams of joy on the Autobahn. Although, when you lose your roof, and doors, and half of your hair, and all of your teeth, it can turn into some serious screams of utter horror. But if you take it to the mountain road, and use that light weight to produce some serious turns on the twisty bits, enjoy the rapid accelerations and let the car show you what it’s made of (if you overcook it, might as well be literally - there are no modern electronic ABS and ESP systems on cars like this to save from the driver’s incompetence), these cars really get alive and screaming. They become a part of you, and even the slowest model, with its 6.5 seconds 0 to 60 and skinny tires, becomes an instrument of a glorified oversteery goodness. They are just that good.

The official Caterham presentation can be found here.