New race cars for NZ
Radical, New Zealand’s newest race car brand, has arrived at Hampton Downs with its track-day weapons costing a cool $160,000.
Designed and built in the UK, Radicals feature a full race spaceframe chassis clad in a slippery “aero” body.
The vehicles, which arrived in mid-December, use tuned motorcycle and road car engines built specifically in-house. The brand has launched here with two models, the SR 3XX and SR10.
The SR 3XX runs a 168kW (226 bhp) Suzuki Hayabusa four-cylinder engine and motorcycle-style sequential transmission with paddle shift and a Quaife limited-slip differential that endows it with a 0-100kph time just over three seconds and a top speed of 236.5kph (147 mph).
On Hankook slicks and in the hands of Aaron Slight, the brand’s driving adviser, the SR 3XX version has proved capable of lapping Hampton Downs as fast as 1:05.
The SR10 version takes Ford’s 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder engine to 317kW (425 bhp).
The man behind the arrival of Radical race cars is Greg Brinck, a former motocross and touring car racer.
He aims to sell 10 or more of the SR 3XX racers, which carry a $160,000 price tag, in the first year. Brinck will offer buyers a range of add-ons such as tuning, pre and post-race servicing, and race car storage.
The purchase price includes membership of Hampton Downs’ GT club, giving access to track days, mentoring and more.
Owners can add to the extensive specification of the cars to produce a tailor-made package that suits their tastes and budget.
New Zealand will at first concentrate on the SR 3XX and SR10 but in other markets the model range goes all the way to a small-displacement motorcycle-based V8.
Radicals have their own race series overseas and with first-year sales here likely to be between 10 and 20 cars, the local market may quickly reach the point where series is viable. However, Brinck says his initial focus will be on sales of cars.
