Factory Five 818 Roadster Project

[Finnegan]

I ran across this over on a Scoob forum. Looks like Factory Five is working on a new roadster concept, mid-engine (WRX based powerplant), 1,800 lbs.

Intro
Design Contest

I'm going to keep an eye out on this one as some of the designs are pretty nice, and the price isn't bad either (yes, it's a kit, and you're doing the labor, but still). Rumors are that there might be a prototype at SEMA this year.

[imom]

I've been reading that forum regularly for months now... The nice thing is the price and they also plan to release high mileage using VW TDI motor. FFR always caught my eye and I was researching into the GTM, but to build one is like $80K or so... you can get away for less...but not easy. The 818 for 818 Kilogram is a rear wheel drive only car. The GTM was featured in a contest from a special design school with high school kids that competed against the likes of MIT and large corporations... they did quite well a lot of the research is going into one of the flavors of 818. It's pretty impressive.

[beta]

Very cool, thanks for sharing Finnegan.

One of my coworkers just had a cobra delivered to him (took 2 years). With his sons he's been putting in the engine, transmission, etc. Got me thinking that if/when I have kids I'd definitely want a project like this.

[gcochard]

Can it fit a smallblock chevy

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by cliffhopper

Can it fit a smallblock chevy

They already have an existing kit that works with a donor C5 Corvette.

[imom]

I hope you guys are talking about the GTM and not the 818. 818 is designed to use a boxer engine from Subaru...they also plan to use VW TDI engine... but nothing big like the chevy engine that I'm aware of.

[Twisted Six]

Originally Posted by imom

I hope you guys are talking about the GTM and not the 818. 818 is designed to use a boxer engine from Subaru...they also plan to use VW TDI engine... but nothing big like the chevy engine that I'm aware of.

If they are planning on using the STI later engine, I believe that puts down about 305hp awd. But they are losing some of that drivetrain loss by losing the awd portion.
I would think their power to weight ratio would ROCK !

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by imom

I hope you guys are talking about the GTM and not the 818. 818 is designed to use a boxer engine from Subaru...they also plan to use VW TDI engine... but nothing big like the chevy engine that I'm aware of.

Originally Posted by Dark Schnitzer

If they are planning on using the STI later engine, I believe that puts down about 305hp awd. But they are losing some of that drivetrain loss by losing the awd portion.
I would think their power to weight ratio would ROCK !

No, 818. I like the GTM, and several other offerings, but the 818 is the new kid on the block and as a roadster might be quite appealing to a number of people here. Some of the possible designs are very "classic" in terms of a British Sports Car, 240Z, Z3, and Z4 look.

Like Dark Schnitzer said, the power to weight of a Scoob Boxer engine would rock. Throw an 06/07 STI engine in there with a simple ECU tune (Cobb Stage I) and you're looking at a 325 HP and 340 Ft Lbs TQ. With a car with 1,800 lbs. That's just nuts! A mid-engined boxer helps with the center of gravity as well.

Even with a 06/07 WRX (not STI) engine, throw a simple Cobb Stage I ECU tune on that and we're looking at 260 HP and 300 ft lbs TQ. Add a downpipe and a Stage II tune and you're looking at 285 HP and 340 Ft lbs TQ. That gives pretty darn good power/weight compared to the Z4M--to put it mildly.

I ran a Cobb Stage I on my 07 STI, and it was wonderful. Bought a used tuner and added around 13% more HP and 15% more torque in 5 minutes (for a bit over 400 bucks too). The tune had much more sane AFRs than stock (07 STIs are known for running too lean at boost with the stock tune, which also "drops out" at 4,500 RPM). The tune was smoother, more linear--the boost came in gradually at a lower RPM and didn't drop off as much as the car reached redline. The car was much more driveable and enjoyable with the tune. I'd expect that to be similar with the WRX tune.

Plus there's a ton of parts and open source tuning avaiable for those engines. And parts for the Scoob motors are, relatively speaking, very cheap.

The TDI option would be less performance oriented but would probably get around 60-70 MPG highway and 40-50 MPG city. My DD is a 2012 TDI, and while the HP is low (140) the torque is very high and always available (240 ft lbs). In sport mode it's surprisingly quick--not Z4M quick of course but not "I've got a diesel snail" slow like diesels of yesterday. And that's with a car that weights a hell of a lot more than 1,800 lbs. I get 38-40 MPG combined city/highway. Yes, it would have a low redline (5K), but for a fun cruiser with a Prius beating MPG it might be attractive to some. And the performance would be reasonably good as well--not nuts like the boxer engine, but pretty darn good.

[imom]

Finnegan - I looked at the GTM ver. 2 and it's costly. E-ROD motor plus mendola tranny will cost you about $20K right there. There are many routes to go, you can get an old corvette or camaro donor, but still you're about $50K when you are done. Most have done it for around $80K+ or so. There were some ver. 1 deals where the owner walked away 90% completed car. It's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears project let alone the price.

The 818 is appealing to me because of the base price and using subbie parts, the stock brakes will work as the car is much lighter than the original. I like the ideal of a turbo TDI diesel engine...they are shooting for 70MPG just like the GTM...but imagine a lighter 818? So a nice compromise is an 818 with say 40 to 50 MPG or so... balance of daily driver gas saver and performance. So far, I'm not in love with the first showing of the 818. I hope they come up with a prettier version soon. How much fun would a torque happy turbo diesel would do for a car like 818?

BTW...the cobra and 33 looks relatively much easier than a GTM. It's kinda like being new to having a dog. Best advice is to get a Labrador versus getting a pitbull. Both fantastic dogs...generally one is much easier to train than the other. Or riding a standard 500cc motorcycle versus riding a 2 stroke 500cc bike. GTM requires a lot of work. I'm hoping the 818 will not be as much...though I guess it will be more than cobra (MK4) or 33.