world's cheapest supercar

[WDoherty]

Factory five that does cobra kit cars has come up with a kit supercar that costs only 20K from them, has a curb weight of like 2250, mid-engine layout, and only requires a c5 vette donor car and g50 transaxle. They say you can be said and done for about 40k, but i've seen wrecked c5's for 4-8K and add a g50 you could have a supercar for 30-35K. Oh and not to mention you start with 350hp on 2250 pounds and the good ole' ls1 is good for around 450hp and more torque and throttle response than you'd ever need in a light car for 1500 bucks.
http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffrkits/GTM/GTMkit.html

 

[Smitherz]

I would order one without the body and save 5 grand... just drive it around like the Ariel Atom. Watch this video of them at Sema. Sweet looking car!
http://www.factoryfive.com/table/showevent/sema/sema2006/sema06.html

 

[striker]

you can build an ultima GTR for less money and that also has all the records. must ad that I'm in holland, just across the pond from the uk so pricing might be the other way round when you're somewhere in the usa or australia.

F5 is very nice but I would have an Ultima anytime I think.

grtz Thomas

 

[WDoherty]

well given an Ultima GTR rolling chassis is 89,000 and still needs drivetrain and the GTM is 19,995 and needs a wrecked corvette say 8k and g50, i'd say there is a difference in 30,000 and over 100,000.

 

[jibbby]

WD - I would be afraid after spending all that mulla for this Corvette kit car that the car would end up looking too much like a kit car for starters, irregularities, rattles, inperfections, and noises would be my next concerns....

I would prefer just too try and drop the LS1 motor and tranny into a cheap and newer SC or LS400 and weld every up...You might be able to pull all that off for $25,000 and that includes the purchase price for a nice LEX...

Lexus/Soarer SC/LS400 - $10,000 (for a real nice one)..USD..
LS1 engine/Tranny (low miles)- $8000
ECU and tune - $1500
Custom Drive shaft - $1000
motor/tranny mounts/misc/weld - $1500
Custom headers - $1000
Exhaust - $1000
Electrical stuff/swap suprises - $2000
LS1 performance cams - $1000

Total price - $27,000

Sale of newer discarded lexus motor, tranny, ECU, driveshaft, etc..$2000

Final price - $25,000....USD - If you shop and get good deals you can even spend less....What do you think?

 

[JustenGT8]

Problem is Jibby that the SC or LS will never handle like a supercar, not to mention the extra lard you have to carry around. I'm guessing that those going for these kits are definitely performance over comfort so want as much bang for buck as they can get?

Maybe do one of each ? grunty cruiser and track weapon kitcar, kinda the balance i try to have in the driveway

 

[cjsupra90]

WD - I would be afraid after spending all that mulla for this Corvette kit car that the car would end up looking too much like a kit car for starters, irregularities, rattles, inperfections, and noises would be my next concerns....

I would prefer just too try and drop the LS1 motor and tranny into a cheap and newer SC or LS400 and weld every up...You might be able to pull all that off for $25,000 and that includes the purchase price for a nice LEX...

Lexus/Soarer SC/LS400 - $10,000 (for a real nice one)..USD..
LS1 engine/Tranny - $8000
ECU and tune - $1500
Custom Drive shaft - $1000
motor/tranny mounts/misc/weld - $1500
Custom headers - $1000
Exhaust - $1000
Electrical stuff/swap suprises - $2000
LS1 performance cams - $1000

Total price - $27,000

Sale of newer discarded lexus motor, tranny, ECU, driveshaft, etc..$2000

Final price - $25,000....USD - If you shop and get good deals you can even spend less....What do you think?

I dont know, seems kinda high especially $8000 for motor and trans. But either way, yeah your way is cheaper, but it would never handle like either or the other two cars mentioned and would take far more TQ and HP then what an LS1 with cams, headers, and exhaust would give you to even keep up with the other two do to the drastic weight differance....

 

[jibbby]

Justen - the SC's have the same Supra subframe and with specific suspension mods, coilovers, fat slick treads, etc..you can get them handling decent in comparison...

The extra lard I agree would be a big obstacle to compare the two projects..You can drop a few hundred pounds off the SC's/LS's and that's about it...However 400-450whp would surely get any LEX motoring..If your still not satisfied then just Boost the LS1 for five more grand and forget about it...

 

[jibbby]

I dont know, seems kinda high especially $8000 for motor and trans. But either way, yeah your way is cheaper, but it would never handle like either or the other two cars mentioned and would take far more TQ and HP then what an LS1 with cams, headers, and exhaust would give you to even keep up with the other two do to the drastic weight differance....

The prices are high - I think it's always a good idea to budget a little high for these types of swaps. As you know a big swap project can go south in hurry and break the bank...

Instrument integration. fitment suprises, etc...They can all get a little hairy...

 

[JustenGT8]

Yeah but still no supercar eh? Supra is more a sports tourer and would take alot of work to compete with the other 2. Don't get me wrong, love the toyota platform but just not in the same league as those light fabricated chassis' which are really designed as race cars for the road. They would be hard to live with every day for some though and for most the toyota platform would deliver the goods.....not what the types that generally buy these kit cars are after though.

Drive a well designed kit car and you soon realise that nothing you can do to your road car will get it there. Weight impacts stopping and directional change as well and you just can't defy physics. That's the appeal of cars like the Lotus Elise compared to say a Dodge Viper.

I hear what you are saying and most of us have gone down a similar path.....i wouldn't say that any of us have achieved supercar status yet though

 

[jibbby]

Justen,

Don't you think A 700-800whp boosted Supra with upgrades on the suspension that is also equiped with the V160 tranny would be able to hang with this supercar? On the track or on the straights etc... NO?

I see what your saying though a kit car is basically fiber glass and an engine that weighs nothing...A Supra and or LEX is a heavy metal box with wheels...

 

[WDoherty]

JIbby, your comparing apples to oranges ( i hate using stereotypical phrases but it fits.) The sc is a nice sport luxury car and can be made to go fast and handle fairly well. A supercar needs extreme cornering, breaking, balance, low weight, and accelleration to perform its duties. This car would kill a supra with 700-800rwhp with about 450hp crank on a track if i had to guess. On the track, its not all about hp. Do you think an sc could even come close to feeling like mid-engined car like this, yes it won't be as comfortable as an sc, but 1 car can't do it all, its best to have a DD and a performance dedicated car.

 

[WDoherty]

don't get me wrong i love the lsX series, the only thing i hate is the exhuast, they all sound like trucks. Would you want your supercar to sound like a silverado (camaro guys know what i'm talking about, they all love the way 32 valve cobra's sound at the track), i think a ported, cammed 1uz would be right at home in this car.

 

[JustenGT8]

Nah 'fraid not Jibby, not unless the Supra was a serious dedicated race car. Here's a great example for you....in the *** JTTC series they ditched the 2JZTE in the Supra and went with the 2litre 4cyl 3SGTE as the weight balance and weight reduction it gave made for a quicker car. There were some boost advantages in running the smaller engine as well so it wasn't as down on power as you might think but would have lost alot of torque....still quicker though.

 

[Smitherz]

I've been holding my breath on this one :smashfreakB:. I don't mean to direct this at anyone or Jibbby. I just speak from some experience out of my love for motorsports. I can throw in an extreme, real world example here. I could go find and pick up an outdated Formula Mazda open wheel car with tires and an engine for 10 grand. Gimme some good tires and I can jump in one of those and put most any super expensive street car to shame just like the good ol days.


Street cars SUCK on the race track. You would have to dump sooo much money into a Lexus to make it come close to a car such as the above that has been designed from the ground up for the race track. There will never be an all purpose street/race car. Buy a Lexus to drive to the track to meet your race car that your team will have warmed up and ready for you to get in and drive on the weekend.

Keep in mind that when you do hit a wall or another car in a race prepared street car it's most likely trash. The bodies and frames are hardly welded together with any strength and even if you do go over it to re-inforce it the thing will just bend, crack and fall out of alignment quickly. Once the whole backbone of the car fatigues it's trash as you can't just replace a section. On the other hand if you wad up a corner of a race car with a proper frame (such as the above) you can lift off the body (or throw the section away for a new one, can't do that on a street car) cut off a section and rebuild it like new in a few hours! That's why race car frames just use simple tubing and not some special formed rare earth metal.

If you want to use the car to it's potential and have a chance against your competition your going to flog it around every corner and be pushing it to the edge. The poor old SC would fall apart at the seams, not to mention slide right off the corner while the kit/race car would putt right around it. The engine/power delivery and configuration is the easy part!

I love smoking hundred throusand $ street cars with cheap race cars that were thrown together in a week. That Factory 5 creation is dangerous and a smart way to go fast for relatively little moneys. One of these days Jibbby (and anyone else who hasn't been on a race track) you need to go to a racing school! You would love it and spend every dime you have on the sport. Street racing gets so boring and gets you killed.

me

 

[jibbby]

Yeah, you guys win...I am a believer...However, I was not comparing a formula race car to a Lexus SC.. I was thinking this above project car was a street driver car with blinkers, interior, etc.....So you would have some comfort and extra weight additons that would make the LS1 project car much heavier then let's say a formula car or framed only car...

I see your points though...I was trying to point out a way to build a more comfortable and LS1 DD car for less then half the money...

I still wonder what the speed comparisons would be between the 400whp Ls1 project car as described in this above thread to let's say a built 800whp Supra/Lexus monster with double the horse power and that weighs 1000 pounds more?

Let's forget about track handling, surely the LEx/Supra would hang in a straight out drag, No?

Smithers - Yes racing in a supercar that is track dedicated would be much more entertaining to drive then a suped up street car on the same track...I agree with you 100 percent.. Apples to Oranges...

 

[Smitherz]

I was going bang for the buck with an extreme example for fun =]. Comfortable and really fast (like competitive fast) never go together. Any car with a big engine in it, or small turbo (Lancer Evo) can go fast down the straights without any skills, hehe. If you want ridiculous power and a super fast car in every situation check out the Evo. My good friend has one and it flies. They are so cheap, kids are killing themselves because their parents don't realize what 30 grand will buy nowadays =o

I would put my money on the 800hp monster.

 

[JustenGT8]

Straight line...then it's simple power to weight...maybe with a bit of traction thrown in

My car carries a higher top speed down the straights than the bikes...pulling it up is another matter though

 

[4000GT]

There is no question that kits cars like the Atom do produce very good results on the track for the power they put out, but a very powerful street car setup for DE can also do very well. A lot of this argument has ignored the track its racing on! This plays a big role in which car would perform best. Example, the track I usualy race on here has a only one long straight and a decent amount of infield corners, a 92HP Toyota Starlet in class T1 (<1300cc) kills most of the T5 class cars, though the driver is very talented having said that.

This argument can never be solved! Unless you get The Stig, and the two cars in question. Personally, with the approprite setup (traction included) in a high HP (800+) Supra, I would pick that over the 400WHP LS1 Project car if there was a decent straight.

 

[Anaema]

well, its definitely better looking than the Ultima.