Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...
– Hunter Thompson
Sadly not
It has to meet MOT standards.
Worse it has to pass vehicle standrds for new cars.
Having helped many get kit cars through Single Vehicle Approval it's a bloody nightmare of regulations and what seem excessively petty rules.
IF it's one-off or new kit to the SVA engineer then they can also ask for a full engineering evaluation of the chassis, suspension and safety. THAT is expensive
One big thing that I'm thankful of is we're not too restrictive on mods to cars. SO lowering, engine swaps, suspension upgrades are all fine as long as they pass the MOT standards ... This is what makes a mockery of the kit car SVA as once you've done all the stuff for the petty regs and passed then you can remove it all later and nobody is the wiser
"A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
i'm looking forward to see production version of that car. looks very good in person and it proved to be fast. i think that's gonna be a very good car
12 cylinders or walk!
aHahaha!
Yes, typically North American sports cars, such as the Corvette and Mustang achieve low prices because nothing's overly complicated. With complicated European and Japanese machines though, it isn't possible. Neither approach is "right" or "wrong", just different to suit the relevant markets.
I do think though that KOTR was making a general statement and exaggeration regarding the $20k figure - I don't think he actually means that they should try to sell it for $20k, just that they should strip all of the non-essential stuff out and sell it at a "bargain" price if possible. - Isn't that what Nissan are doing with the GT-R (I've read about different (interior) specification levels being launched to suit different pockets)?
What's to stop you from registering a honda civic, then "modifying" it into a kit car? Simply by replacing a few basic parts on the honda (i.e. everything) it could become a radical. In all seriousness, at what point is it no longer the same car as the one which you registered? What component, when changed, changes the "identity" of the vehicle?
As long as the "H" and "Civic" badges are on it, it's still a Civic.
To be serious, that in itself is a touchy subject. To me, once you change the engine, it's not the same car anymore. That's why I usually do not like engine swaps, especially in a Mazda, where the rotary engine is the reason why it's special in the first place.
Awesome to have a huge thumping V-8 in a RX-7, but that's not the reason I would buy an RX-7. If I had wanted a Corvette, I would have bought one in the first place.
However, a rotary engine in a Mazda MX-5. That would be interesting.
Makes me wonder why they didn't put the two together yet.
As long as the engine is from the same company, I guess it would be alright.
Last edited by NSXType-R; 01-08-2008 at 04:20 PM.
I'm dropping out to create a company that starts with motorcycles, then cars, and forty years later signs a legendary Brazilian driver who has a public and expensive feud with his French teammate.
The crucial thing in the UK is the "chassis". If you ostensibly retain the chassis then it's OK. If you use a different chassis - as in a Radical - then you HAVE to put it through the SVA test.
The rules are quite strict and in fact I was pulled up at the MOT on one of our kit cars because the kit car body chassis number didn't match the documents. A mistake made by the original builder adn somehow missed when completed. Thankfully the guy was reasonable and as long as I made up a new chassis plate matching the documents he was happy to accept it. Phew .. as the alternative woudl have been a full SVA and a new number plate and lots of expense.
It may LOOK like it's easy to do kits and mods in the UK because so many do it. but it's not. The reason it's "easy" is because so many HAVE done it that the regulations and bodies are all setup to handle it and ensure safe cars are on the road.
"A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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