Was up at knockhill today in this car. Very impressive track tool, especially round the corners and on the brakes. Can anyone say caliper clearance?? 8 pots under 15 inch wheels:
Hope they realise that it wouldn't take long at all for any metal or other hard debris that may get jammed in there to score right through that alloy wheel, not sure if it's just the photo/wheel manufacture but it already looks scored to me, certainly would not want such an epic wheel failure happening at any speed if I was driving it anyway...
It's a Vauxhall Nova. I'm not a fan of Nova's (or usually their owners!!) in general but this is an exception and very special. I think it won its class at Time Attack Ireland earlier this year. It has a rebuilt 2.0 16v Engine with new everything - pistons etc (I don't know the full details). It rev's to 8,250 rpm and has been rolling roaded at 250 bhp. It's just had a dog box gearbox fitted and has some sort of fancy Quaiffe diff apperntly. Every panel is fiberglass with the exception of the roof which is still metal. It also has a fancy computer dash, racing fuel cell and full cage. You woulnd't believe how this thing goes round corners. Incredible. Here are some pics.
liking the 1.2 badge. It seems a bit strange to not change the roof, as usually one would start at the top with weight reductions, to lower the centre of gravity. When you say it's a 2l, I take it that it's a C20XE? Also, 8 pots must be massive overkill for something that must weigh less than a tonne.
8 pot calipers on an 800kg car? Why He could have saved a fortune by buying something more appropriate like a Wilwood Dynalite kit. I think some people just get carried away. There's nothing wrong with a sorted Nova as a track car, I just don't see what it gains by having 8 piston calipers.
To be fair I don't think he could care less about how it looks. He built it to go fast, and it certainly works very well indeed. But I'd agree. If it was me I'd have dropped 20k + into another car!
And the 8 pots... he didnt fit them. He built the car, sold it to a guy in Ireland who entered into Time Attack and was competitive with the 8 pots on it. He then bought it back. Can't be too bad. And why not?? Here is some more info when it was owned by the bloke in Ireland: http://www.totalopel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2334
Doesnt really matter how it looks IMO, the Nova's a shopping trolley small hatch - never designed to be a track machine. I'd much rather have put the money and effort into improving something that was fit for purpose to start with. You can stick as many performance parts to a turd, but it will still be a turd
Yeah well I guess its all good fun. It's his hobby and wass most likely one of the fastest cars at Knockhill today. He actually bought a Supercharged Exige and sold it because he preferred this! His next project is a Racing Puma with Focus RS engine. I'm looking forward to seeing it
track weapon or not it still started out as a nova. You'd have been better spending the money on a car that was a good hot hatch to start with unless he got the car for free or something ?
Yeh each to their own, I imagine it's been one of those projects that started small but ended up in 20k of expenditure. If it was my money though I'd have spent 10k on a more appropriate car to start with and the rest of the money preparing it/running it. But thats just me OK then thanks.
