Rapture launch...
Discussion
gareth747474 said:
Not sure, but hopefully they are not going to go down the Lotus route of trying to bankrupt themselves by launching multiple versions of cars when they find themselves with a successful car!
My feeling is their current success is somewhat subdued with no euro masters this year and 19 entries at Donington for the UK challenge, so finding some new zest is pretty important.Bert
Did not know this before....I have just seen that the Rapture is road legal. So the huge expense of getting the SR3 SL (I have the prototype of this ‘Daisy’) and the RXC road legal was not enough? Should be another nice car, but 3 different road legal cars in 10 years? Not sure how many they sold of each, think not much more than 100 of the RS3 SL were sold (that’s worldwide - probably most were LH drive)
Anyway, get yer check books at the ready....the big launch is tomorrow at Goodwood Festival.
Anyway, get yer check books at the ready....the big launch is tomorrow at Goodwood Festival.
gareth747474 said:
Just had a nose as well....it looks very similar to the SR3SL, although that engine (2.0L Ecoboost) was discontinued.
One notable thing....the rear wing is a lot bigger.....thought that had to be smaller to meet regs?
Perhaps it was smaller when it went for IVA? I presume it's a track car that can be driven there. One notable thing....the rear wing is a lot bigger.....thought that had to be smaller to meet regs?
I imagine it is a tweak/based on the SL small type approval which must have cost them a fortune. They didn't sell many SL's so I bet this release is to try and sell some cars and regain some money back that went into the project.
I do not think they are IVA'd as once they have European small type approval they can just produce the car without going any other individual tests like the IVA
From what I understand the wing cannot stick out further than the bodywork, as it does on an SR3. From the pictures this wing looks like it is within the confines of the bodywork even if its larger than the SL?
I do not think they are IVA'd as once they have European small type approval they can just produce the car without going any other individual tests like the IVA
From what I understand the wing cannot stick out further than the bodywork, as it does on an SR3. From the pictures this wing looks like it is within the confines of the bodywork even if its larger than the SL?
I looked at it up close and took some pictures while it was sitting in the Arena (Forza 4 area) and it looks fantastic. The interior really does look more of a road car than a race car. It looks quite low and this particular one was left hand drive, the yellow one that went up the hill. I can't help to notice that the wheels look a little small for it, I did not notice what size they are however.
Other than that a nice bit of kit, it's just a shame about the price at £107,400 inc.VAT seems a little pricey for a 4 cyl 350bhp track car to me. For that sort of cash, I would expect higher performance i.e. 0-60 well less than 3.0 seconds and 0-100 in around 6.0 or less, which with it's weight 765kg dry puts it around 460bhp per tonne. With this car, it's competing with so many other cars in it's class.
Other than that a nice bit of kit, it's just a shame about the price at £107,400 inc.VAT seems a little pricey for a 4 cyl 350bhp track car to me. For that sort of cash, I would expect higher performance i.e. 0-60 well less than 3.0 seconds and 0-100 in around 6.0 or less, which with it's weight 765kg dry puts it around 460bhp per tonne. With this car, it's competing with so many other cars in it's class.
I presume the car is based on the new SR3 RSX. It does look nice, no doubt about that. The last time I saw the price for the SL was around the 70k mark.....so the £100k for this is a fair chunk more. Surprised They changed the rear wing as the old SL version (bi plane) cost a few quid to test and develop.
Not surprised the one at Goodwood was a LH drive. As these are available worldwide and most the world drives on the left....makes sense really.
In short a very nice car, but as always, other options are available.
PS if anyone is thinking, I will get one and drive around trouble free (like you would if you bought a normal new car).....think again.
If it’s anything like mine....you will have an eye watering annual bill!
Not surprised the one at Goodwood was a LH drive. As these are available worldwide and most the world drives on the left....makes sense really.
In short a very nice car, but as always, other options are available.
PS if anyone is thinking, I will get one and drive around trouble free (like you would if you bought a normal new car).....think again.
If it’s anything like mine....you will have an eye watering annual bill!
Hi Bert,
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
[quote=gareth747474]Hi Bert,
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......]
I am interested in what you have to say about the SL, as I am thinking about getting a Rapture. I would happily get a track only car except that I have nowhere to store a trailer so I really need a car that I can drive to the circuit (and that is the main purpose of having it road legal, from my perspective). I doubt that it would get much road use apart from that.
I had a look at the Rapture at the FOS, and yes, the mirrors are a bit comical but probably quite useful even on the circuit. I do need to get a test drive and want more info on the car as the brochure doesn't tell you that much. Where do you get the SL serviced?
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......]
I am interested in what you have to say about the SL, as I am thinking about getting a Rapture. I would happily get a track only car except that I have nowhere to store a trailer so I really need a car that I can drive to the circuit (and that is the main purpose of having it road legal, from my perspective). I doubt that it would get much road use apart from that.
I had a look at the Rapture at the FOS, and yes, the mirrors are a bit comical but probably quite useful even on the circuit. I do need to get a test drive and want more info on the car as the brochure doesn't tell you that much. Where do you get the SL serviced?
Hi,
The Rapture looks nice (as do the SL's)
You will get a lot of admiring glances and people chatting to you about it if you get one
From....."rev it up - I want to hear it".....(I do not do this!!) to "did you build it yourself....is it a Kit car?"
Some people have sensible questions as well.
I get my main servicing (and MOT) done at Corinium Motorsport near Swindon. Not sure if that's close to you. You may find other places that will do it.....don't bother going to places like Kwik Fit!
Most of the stuff you can happily do yourself if you can be bothered....oil changes etc. You will need a bit of help to get the rear clam off.....I know people have illustrated on here how to do it yourself, but having a little helper makes things a lot easier. I get one of the kids or the wife to help (these days I should say wife / partner / transgender / etc.... - although all these genders will be able to help!)
I have always preferred to have a road car as a track car, before I had a Westfield Seight. It does seem a bit extravagant to have a 100% track day car that you can not use on the road. Although that is only my preference.
I know I struggled to get much joy out of Radical when I was looking to get an SL, basically they would not get back to me! I presume it will be different now....whats the point of having a new car to sell if they are not even going to respond to emails / phone calls!
Let me know how you get on - Gareth
The Rapture looks nice (as do the SL's)
You will get a lot of admiring glances and people chatting to you about it if you get one
From....."rev it up - I want to hear it".....(I do not do this!!) to "did you build it yourself....is it a Kit car?"
Some people have sensible questions as well.
I get my main servicing (and MOT) done at Corinium Motorsport near Swindon. Not sure if that's close to you. You may find other places that will do it.....don't bother going to places like Kwik Fit!
Most of the stuff you can happily do yourself if you can be bothered....oil changes etc. You will need a bit of help to get the rear clam off.....I know people have illustrated on here how to do it yourself, but having a little helper makes things a lot easier. I get one of the kids or the wife to help (these days I should say wife / partner / transgender / etc.... - although all these genders will be able to help!)
I have always preferred to have a road car as a track car, before I had a Westfield Seight. It does seem a bit extravagant to have a 100% track day car that you can not use on the road. Although that is only my preference.
I know I struggled to get much joy out of Radical when I was looking to get an SL, basically they would not get back to me! I presume it will be different now....whats the point of having a new car to sell if they are not even going to respond to emails / phone calls!
Let me know how you get on - Gareth
gareth747474 said:
Hi Bert,
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
Interesting, thanks. Are you sure about the 100 SLs? That sounds extraordinarily unlikely to me!Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
BertBert said:
gareth747474 said:
Hi Bert,
Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
Interesting, thanks. Are you sure about the 100 SLs? That sounds extraordinarily unlikely to me!Yes I do have an SL. Mine was the prototype version which they called ‘Daisy’. It does not have the refinements of the proper road car, so it does not have the electric mirrors, heater...but retains the large SR3 spoiler.
It also retains the ‘head entrapment’ area (side air intakes).....yes, as you probably guess, I am always getting my head stuck in there......
Maybe a bit harsh on the annual costs....before I purchased it, the car was used to take people around circuits for rides. Obviously the company had other cars as well you could go around in as well.
Costs so far have been things like
- New gears for gearbox (if you need an entire gearbox it’s a cool £10k!....I think it’s more like 15K actually )
- head work
- ECU programming
- Various broken / sheared off mountings
Think I will leave it there....feeling a bit sick thinking about it!
I suppose if you want to drive a race car on the road.....you are going to have various issues.
I think this the major factor....you are actually driving a race car on the road! OK, the engine is a Focus sporty version, but everything else is very similar.
As they only sold 100 odd of them, the parts are hardly off the shelf as well. Some bits that are shared with the SR3, no problem there though.
Anyway, I am not trying to put anyone off (I really like mine) and I am sure anyone who is remotely thinking of getting one will know what will probably be involved.
After all, many years back when I was racing ( Falken tyres modified saloons )you would not prepare a car for the season and think.....’well that should not need any further work all year!)
Don’t really see many SL’s about for sale and the ones I do are LH drive. Hope they sell a few Raptures....they go look nice
Hi, Don't know for sure, but Andy Cummings of 6th Gear experiences and who raced Radicals for years (who I bought my car off) told me this. Can not remember exactly what he said but it was defo around the 100 mark. Not saying Andy is the Radical guru, but he had very strong links with Radical. He raced in the Euro masters for a few years as well......think things turned a bit sour in the end though.
Anyway, were you think more than 100 or less?
BertBert said:
It sounds far too many to me! Radical have sold circa 1000 SR3s in total. Can't remember when the 1000th car happened so it'll be a few more now.
Id think about 10, max 20 SLs!
Ha! could be rightId think about 10, max 20 SLs!
I have seen the odd one for sale, but they have all been LH drive. I have only ever seen one RH drive second hand car for sale.....I bought it. That was 3 years ago.
Andy defo mentioned 100.....maybe he said something long the lines of "not many were sold....no more than 100"
I used to drive a Westfield Seight and I used to see them about now and again. Hardly an everyday experience seeing a Westfield (or Caterham) but it is not exactly a rare sight.
So far, I have never seen a Radical driving about (SL or road converted SR3 with bike engine) although I did see something that looked like a RXC driving about once. It might not have been an actual RXC, but is was something along the lines of one.
If they did sell, say 20 odd....it would seem an extremely expensive project to undertake (IVA approval?)
I know it cost Radical loads to gain this and had to develop lots of bits and pieces. Electric mirrors, heater, controls on steering wheel, seats, lovely head entrapment cover, rear wing....and prob loads more stuff......let alone the engine / gearbox
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