Saker cars in NZ

[kylie]

Hi in a year or so when we have some more space at home I am looking for another car, was going to get another exotic but have been leaning more and more towards a track car now. I was over at a guys workshop last night who builds the replica F40's, very clever guy and he leaned me towards the Saker, since I could not quite afford the 200K for the F40 The saker website is www.saker.co.nz they look the business and apparently the build quality of the chassis etc is very good, any thoughts, seen them?

[jamieheasman]

I've got nothing against the chassis but the body is horrible, very dated and full of uneven panel gaps etc. (IMHO of course!)

If you want something along these lines then the Ultima is the car to go for, although admittedly there is a huge gulf in price. Whereas all the Sakers I've seen (all three!) look like kitcars, Ultimas look like the race car for the road that they are.

I also can't understand why anyone with the talent to produce something like that F40, would build a replica! What's wrong with an original design?

Are Saker the only original kiwi-designed cars being built?


>> Edited by jamieheasman on Tuesday 20th April 02:37

[simonsparrow]

Hi,

Worth checking these out. I used to work with Matt in Wellington, his Saker is very well put together. www.constructorscarclub.org.nz/profiles/cooleySaker.html.

Also Almac cars produce a couple of designs www.almac.co.nz

[kylie]

Hi, what did cost him to put the saker together? Some of them do look good.

[jamieheasman]

Actually the one car that is built in NZ, is mostly original and very good quality is the Beattie. They're bloody expensive though.

I think the basic Saker shape could be tidied-up relatively easily. There are too many small panels making up the body and I'm sure a couple of these could be combined or the joins hidden. The front air-dam for instance should be incorporated into the nose and if necessary a seperate splitter added but without trying to make it look like part of the whole. Also, whilst I appreciate the effort of trying to put in opening windows (something the Ultima and those Ferrari P2 replicas tend to lack) the flat sided styling is at odds with the rest of the roof line. The front and rear lights scream 70s kit-car - what's wrong with either taking the lights from a production vehicle as a whole and moulding them in or making a pod arrangement to fit non-descript projector lights as Ultima have done and as is common practice on the front of TVRs in the aftermarket arena? Lastly, smooth off the straight edges and conceal any door handles or hinges. Voila!

Obviously I don't want to take away the cars style or character but it's so close to be a good looking car (IMHO) that is annoys me they haven't gone the extra yards to make the body and those little styling touches that much more convincing. I'm probably just being arrogant!

Seeing as you're the composites expert Kylie, how about doing them a revamp?

[kylie]

jamieheasman said:

Actually the one car that is built in NZ, is mostly original and very good quality is the Beattie. They're bloody expensive though. I think the basic Saker shape could be tidied-up relatively easily. There are too many small panels making up the body and I'm sure a couple of these could be combined or the joins hidden. The front air-dam for instance should be incorporated into the nose and if necessary a seperate splitter added but without trying to make it look like part of the whole. Also, whilst I appreciate the effort of trying to put in opening windows (something the Ultima and those Ferrari P2 replicas tend to lack) the flat sided styling is at odds with the rest of the roof line. The front and rear lights scream 70s kit-car - what's wrong with either taking the lights from a production vehicle as a whole and moulding them in or making a pod arrangement to fit non-descript projector lights as Ultima have done and as is common practice on the front of TVRs in the aftermarket arena? Lastly, smooth off the straight edges and conceal any door handles or hinges. Voila! Obviously I don't want to take away the cars style or character but it's so close to be a good looking car (IMHO) that is annoys me they haven't gone the extra yards to make the body and those little styling touches that much more convincing. I'm probably just being arrogant! Seeing as you're the composites expert Kylie, how about doing them a revamp?

You are on to it I thought about refining the front of the saker to look more like the ultima, just smoother lines and your right they do look dated, but I would be doing it just for me as doing this kinda of work is tricky, time consuming and costly. I just want a track hack, so it doesn't have to be that clean looking. The prices of the kits look very tempting, and I would eventually replace as many panels as I could in CF inside and out.

[jamieheasman]

But once you've completed a car for yourself most of the hard work is done isn't it? You could then allow Turnbull Engineering (they make the Saker don't they?) to take moulds off-of your car to incorporate in their standard package. You never know they may even do you a deal!

What powerplant would you go for? Chevvy? Lexus? Lotus Esprit V8 Twin-turbo?

[kylie]

A Lexus all alloy V8, reliable light weight power plant. My partner has put one in his 32 Roadster not finished yet but in. Will do the business

[Izza]

kylie said:

A Lexus all alloy V8, reliable light weight power plant. My partner has put one in his 32 Roadster not finished yet but in. Will do the business

A pushrod free hotrod? That's gotta be a first
He'll get linched!

[kylie]

He got stick about it first, but after everyone seen it all polished and its potential every has Will post some pics if his motor when I get home after work.

[darren]

Beattie is now called the Redline Sprint. See here for more info:
www.redlineclassics.net

Look out for an article on PH in the next 3 weeks (I'm supposed to be driving it round Pukekohe tomorrow but it looks like the weather is going to be typically Auckland...i.e. wet).

[kylie]

kylie said:

He got stick about it first, but after everyone seen it all polished and its potential every has Will post some pics if his motor when I get home after work.

Whoops forgot to post pics, Simon's Rod half built.

[Roger A]

Don't Chevron do a can-am style road-racer. Their build quality might not be up to some others( or it might-I have no idea) but it's kind of pretty and goes vroom, vroom and thus grabbed my attention, sophisticate that I am ( ahem)