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 Posted: 09-24-2005 02:03 am
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pc

 

Joined: 03-16-2005
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You asked how light a Jensen Healey could be, not how light a Jensen Healey could be made within $xyz budget.

I’m not knockin’ your idea. Quite the contrary, I love the idea of a stripped down JH “SL”. I just believe that any project has constraints and the key to success is balancing your choices.

There’s a lot more to the cost of an Enzo than power to weight ratio. Ferrari had their own set of parameters in mind when they made their engineering trade-offs. Then there’s the price people are willing to pay, an entirely different subject. Apples and oranges.

And speaking of apples and oranges, pricing on that Stealth B6 starts at £98,500 (US$175k). The Ultima GTR starts at a rather more comfortable US$89k, but then you need to come up with your own engine and transaxle (and install them yourself).

If I were looking for such things I would also consider a Noble M400, only US$66,900 without motor and trans. You’d be on the road for less well than $100k.

If quick (as opposed to fast) for the buck is the goal you can’t beat going light. The best acceleration/$ dollar is going to be a bike but for a four wheeler the coolest thing I’ve seen so far is this little number,

The Atom. Caught it on Top Gear Wednesday night. The quickest thing they’ve ever tested and faster around their track than all but the Enzo. An absolute steal at £35,000 (US$62k).

From a cost perspective all these cars have something else in common, they’re produced in quanities. Small quantities to be sure, but large enough to amortize fabrication tooling and development costs over multiple units. Our hypothetical JH SL won’t (unless we all build them, which would be fun).


PC.