Tuesday 25th January 2005

Westfield launches 250bhp 2000 S

Will 495bhp per ton be enough for sir?

---

Westfield has launched a major salvo in the increasingly heated market for lightweight sports/track cars. With 250bhp and a price tag of £32,950 (factory-built), the front engined two-seater features a major overhaul of the Westfield SEI, the wide-bodied independent rear suspension kit car.

It's powered by a four-cylinder, sequential fuel-injected, all aluminium Dunnell-modified Ford i4 Duratec generating 495bhp per ton which Westfield reckons rivals any car in its class.

The engine is now bolted directly to the chassis using a crossbeam on the front face of the sump in a clubman style instead of the traditional pedestal rubber mountings; it is also fitted with extra bracing at the top front and a crossbeam at the lower rear end of the engine.

It gets a dry sump system as standard, which both helps protect the engine from oil starvation and gives better ground clearance, permitting a lower ride height.

The gearbox is a full competition-specification aluminium six-speed sequential with straight-cut dog gears, all of which are interchangeable, giving the driver of the car a choice of ratios and, says Westfield, a quicker, smoother gear change.

The chassis uses 18 standard wire gauge (SWG) weight steel making it over 15 per cent lighter than the normal Westfield chassis. New engine mounts not only secure the engine but also stiffen the chassis, giving the car far higher torsional rigidity and resistance to twisting forces.

More details here: www.westfield-sportscars.co.uk/sport2000s.htm

[dannylt]

Well, judging by my Caterham Superlight with 250bhp Duratec, it will be very quick! However, it shouldn't need 6 gears with the duratec torque.

[FestivAli]

I had a go of a car with a similiar style gearbox - if I'm correct it means that sequential shifting is done bu pushing the lever back to change up, forward for down or whatever (it was a Falcon XR6) and I found, even on little side streets that such a gearshift was far more boring than a conventional manual. So why not have 6 gears? At least it gives you more of an excuse to not just want an ordinary auto...

[dino ferrana]

A Westfield that costs as much as a Caterham? I think we have been here before and it didn't work (FW400). Will be a horribly compromised road car with a straight cut sequential dog box.

FestiveAli the sequential you tried was not a real sequential. I would suspect that the box you tried is an automatic that changes gear when you pull the lever. This is a manual gearbox that changes with a yank of the stick. Ideal for track use, but hard work on the road.

I'm pretty sure the CSR will show it a clean pair of heals.

[feet]

dino ferrana said:

A Westfield that costs as much as a Caterham? I think we have been here before and it didn't work (FW400). Will be a horribly compromised road car with a straight cut sequential dog box. FestiveAli the sequential you tried was not a real sequential. I would suspect that the box you tried is an automatic that changes gear when you pull the lever. This is a manual gearbox that changes with a yank of the stick. Ideal for track use, but hard work on the road. I'm pretty sure the CSR will show it a clean pair of heals.

I agree pretty much. It will, no doubt, be a damn quick car. But given that much money though, even I - a duratec westfield owner - would probably be inclined to get a CSR instead.