In Depth – Olsbergs MSE SuperCar Lites
By Efrain Olivares
The cars of the Global Rally Cross series – the fleet of Ford Fiestas, a few Subaru STI’s, a couple of Saab’s, and a Dodge Dart – are no doubt some of the wildest racing machinery that you can possibly see in North America. The racing they produce is unreal, with these compact and subcompact cars banging fenders and flying through the air.
However, to call up Olsbergs MSE and get into one of those Fiestas presents a financial challenge for most people. For one, the purchase price is pretty high – as you might expect when you achieve hypercar levels of performance after starting with a Fiesta. And for a fledgling sport such as GRC, which is still relatively new, there is no defined path to the GRC SuperCars – just the top level.
Enter the SuperCar Lites. Conceived by Andreas Erickson at Olsbergs MSE as a stepping stone to the top-level SuperCars, the SuperCar Lites cars aim to provide a lower barrier of entry into Global Rally Cross, while giving drivers valuable experience in machinery that will prepare them for the SuperCars. Checking in at 2600lbs., they will also have 4-wheel-drive and make just over 300hp.
Unlike the unibody SuperCars, the SuperCar Lites are built with a tube chassis with a fiberglass body. Strong and easy to repair, the SuperCar Lites were designed to be overbuilt. Whereas the SuperCars are built to the absolute limits of the rules – and are somewhat of a hand-grenade as a result – the overbuilt nature of the Lites cars mean they can race and perform without stressing the major components and the car will be more reliable.
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The car’s construction allows for almost any small part to be easily replaced which reduces maintenance costs. OMSE will provide each customer a full parts catalog, enabling the team to easily source replacement parts. The cars will be built in the United States. |
