Despite what half the ads in the back of those old issues of Popular Mechanics promised, building your own car is a complex, difficult process. There’s a reason the companies that do it are listed on the NYSE and have their names on 60,000-seat stadiums.
But those big companies face big compromises from demanding customers who insist on such trivialities …
I'd love to be able to afford a track toy like the Cardinal. Sounds like it's a lot of fun straight out of the box.
Kit car manufacturers always have one of these 3D render-only models tucked away somewhere, waiting for someone wealthy enough......brave enough......
In reply to Turbo_Rev :
Except it's not a 3D render only model..
Scioto is very real and the first cars are in production currently.
They seem really cool. I hope they are sucessful. I would love to interact with one IRL and see what it is like and potentially drive one someday.
I can appreciate the lap time per dollar, but it's just so ugly. Like, you have a blank slate requiring ZERO concessions for all the conflicting laws of the world for pedestrian safety and all that fluff, make something that looks cool!
In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :
They need to get those IRL pics on their website. That thing looks sick.
To each their own, but considering all the Locost variants, Excocet, Catfish, all the single donor cars from Factory Five, I have to ask "Why?".
I love the weight -- 1800 lbs. But it's fugly and now $80k. That's a long way from the original $50k price. Unfortunately, that's a lot of money for a turbocharged four-banger Ford. It needs better styling. And I don't understand the steering rack -- how is a car so light creating so much steering effort? Randy Pobst commented that it was very physically demanding to drive, ironic for an 1800 lb car. Love the concept as I believe the price of consumables would be very reasonable. But the door charge is steep. I guess they always are.
In reply to jeffbob :
$80k? Is that a turnkey car? I see they've taken the pricing info off their website, and I don't feel like getting spammed forever just to find out.
I saw one of these at a local trackday earlier in the year. It was the first time out for the car, so still shaking down and I wasn't able to get any lap time info from him. It's just as fugly in person as it is in pictures, though. Great concept, I'm just not convinced by the execution. There's a lot of cars I'd be way more interested in spending $80k on...
In reply to jeffbob :
I thought $50k was for a rolling chassis, never for a turnkey car.
I like the way these look, I like the "track day anvil" concept. Unfortunately I am not in their market.
Look at it this way: It's cheaper than a new Ford Econobox. IIRC, MST is getting $125-150k for a turn key "MST Mk2". And it comes with a NON turbocharged Ford four cylinder engine 
(if a Millington Diamond counts as a Ford engine, anyway, but Duratecs certainly do, and those are both options)
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
$50k was the rolling chassis price... but it's no longer on their website. If they've raised the roller price to $80k, they're rolling straight into fantasyland.
MST Es-corts (avoiding the auto edit) are a WHOLE different ballgame! ;)
That first picture looks like an Alfa Tubolare mated with a classic Jaguar! (Alfa back Jag face)
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