Mark Smith of Factory Five Racing, the hugely successful kit-car manufacturer, is re-thinking the way component cars are designed, constructed and assembled. The goal for his next kit is to use as much of a donor car as possible so that the car remains emissions compliant and to minimize registration hassles. The target cost for a consumer build is $10,000. Design ideas for the new car are being crowdsourced through online forums, and Mark posts daily progress updates on Twitter.
The conversion will involve taking a used Volkswagen MKIV Golf, Jetta or GTI, chopping the trunk and top off, moving the drivetrain to the rear and adding a fiberglass body to make a lightweight, mid-engine exotic. Any MKIV engine is compatable, including the diesel - interested in a 50 mpg sports car?
Plans are to keep the dash, drivetrain and electronic systems in tact to make the build much faster than traditional kit cars, and so that safety features such as airbags, ABS and traction control are retained.
The body will be resemble a scaled-down version of FFR’s current GRM supercar, pictured above.
Details and Updates:
http://www.twitter.com/factoryfive
http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220382
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=262728
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4662201
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/factory-fives-new-tdi-concept/16612/page1/
