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Here Annie Sam checks out the sound in the Akrapovic booth. That chair she's sitting in is all surround speakers with an additional front speaker in the foreground. They had sample videos available to play for all the vehicles with their exhausts. I probably could have spent hours in that chair but I limited myself to just a few minutes. |  |
Hella flush pwns joo. This VW Golf R was fully stanced out and sporting tires stretched to the max. I wonder how often these things de-bead and what the tire wear is like.
Texas Dave's Evo 8 is certainly a triumph of function over form. In fact that's how I got to meet this fine gentleman from Austin, TX. We were walking past the car when I remarked to Khiem that this car was a triumph of form over function when someone piped up that it was pretty fast too. That was our introduction to Texas Dave and we spent the next half hour talking with him about his awesome Pikes Peak Open Class Evo. If you missed it be sure to read Khiem's Sneak Peek article here.
A very fine example of a Radical intended for the street. This is the Radical RXC. While the RXC would still need to be registered as a kit car all the amenities that you need are here including heat, A/C and a fully finished and trimmed cabin for two. Aerodynamically speaking the car's bodywork produces 900kg of downforce at its top speed of 175 mph which neatly matches the car's 900kg (1984lb) chassis weight. Insert old witticism about being able to drive the car upside down on the roof of a tunnel here.
The RXC is powered by a Ford 3.7 liter Ti-VCT V6. The same engine found stock in a Mustang producing 305 horsepower and 280lb ft of torque has been tuned here to provide 380hp and 320lb ft of torque by Radical's in-house engine partner RPE and engine management partner AER.
Perhaps a little bit more affordable option when it comes to a “kit car” is the Factory Five Racing 818 available in “R” and “S” guise. The R denotes a Race or track oriented vehicle with built in rollbar and specific ground effects kit while the S signifies a vehicle intended for the street with functional doors and an optional soft top. Both examples I saw at the show were S models.
With a typical target weight of 818 kg (1800lb) and the drivetrain cribbed from a Subaru Impreza and mid-mounted these vehicles are capable of impressive performance. Please allow approximately 250 hours for assembly.
