Competition for the 818? Catfish

Keith Tanner wrote:

Dang that's a good looking car. I love the color.

Keith Tanner wrote:

Damn that looks good. I regret my comparison to the Veritas now.

In reply to The0retical:

PLUS Juan. The Exocet guys should be paying attention because their chassis rocks but badly needs to be hidden.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The Exocet guys should be paying attention because their chassis rocks but badly needs to be hidden.

agree. Gaawwwddd that exocet is homely.

Keith Tanner wrote:

That's the car I saw at Laguna Seca. It looks as good in person as it does in the pictures.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: In reply to The0retical: PLUS Juan. The Exocet guys should be paying attention because their chassis rocks but badly needs to be hidden.

Plus a zillion. I probably would already have an Exocet on order if had a sweet looking body. I'm thoroughly impressed with the engineering they have put into the car. The looks; not so much.

In that case, I'd be happy to take your order for a Catfish

Ours is 1750 lbs wet with a turbocharged engine. Flat floor, functional diffuser, lots of room inside. Someone installed depowered steering in it so it's lost the light playful feel of the Exocet, but with that fixed it should have a very similar personality. I go back and forth on which one I prefer. I know which one I like to look at, but for a track beater I'm wondering which I'd pick. I certainly don't live in fear of the Exocet picking up scratches the way I am with the Catfish.

Thanks Keith, I just read through the Flyin' Miata build thread. It looks like a neat piece. Have you driven this against the Exocet to see what's what?

What color blue is that Catfish in the pictures? It's gorgeous!

Looks to be either Nissan or Subaru electric blue, or whatever they call it.

Keith Tanner wrote: In that case, I'd be happy to take your order for a Catfish

How does that work? Are you a dealer for the kit, a seller of assembled kits to order, or just conducting an R&D exercise?

I'm not in the market until I ditch some current stock of race car chassis and pay for a new two wheeled toy... but I would like to build a cool little kit car from a pile of pipes and bits of bodywork in the somewhat near future. This silly thing appeals to me because when I'm done... it's pretty and looks simple underneath. However, I'd be looking for an instruction manual, parts and a junk miata not "pick up the keys at the service desk" sort of arrangement.

We are a dealer for the kit, both as a pile of parts and as turn-keys. Same as the Exocet. I'm working on the section of the site with info. It starts at $13,900, so figure it'll cost about $6k more than a similarly spec'd Exocet, not counting paint.

Color is Lexus Ultrasonic Blue, as seen on the IS250. I saw one in a dark parking lot and it stopped me in my tracks. The color loves overcast light.

How does it compare to the Exocet? Well, we've only had it on track briefly. I mentioned earlier that it was built with depowered steering, which I personally think was an error. It's Bill's baby, though, so I suspect that will remain. The heavy steering does take some of the playfulness away from the car. But it should feel very much like an Exocet with a 200 lb passenger with the same steering. On a tight track, the Exocet's weight advantage will help. The Catfish should pull away on the faster straights due to the improved aero over the Exocet, and I'm looking forward to finding out how the flat bottom and diffuser feel at speed.

I got to sit in a catfish at EuroFest out here in California and talk with one of the engineers. I love the thing, pedal box is open, can is easy enough to get into, everything has a very solid well made feel to it.

Lack of side intrusion bars was my main concern but they are working on it currently. Plus I would love upper side bars that were removable but that sort of stuff I could fab myself.

If California treats the titles of them like miata's then its a 100% go for me if we get the new house. Will have to sell the JCW to make space and cash but it looks like tons of fun.

It'll be treated like any other kit car for registration. That means you've got more leeway for power adders than you would if it were a Miata.

FYI I love manual steering, too! We have power steering in the LTD Lemons car, for obvious reasons, but we stayed manual in the Amazon and I'm staying manual for the truck. On purpose.

wearymicrobe wrote: Lack of side intrusion bars was my main concern but they are working on it currently. Plus I would love upper side bars that were removable but that sort of stuff I could fab myself.

Does this not count as having side intrusion bars? (Maybe I'm confused as to what you mean?)

Keith Tanner wrote: In that case, I'd be happy to take your order for a Catfish Ours is 1750 lbs wet with a turbocharged engine. Flat floor, functional diffuser, lots of room inside. Someone installed depowered steering in it so it's lost the light playful feel of the Exocet, but with that fixed it should have a very similar personality. I go back and forth on which one I prefer. I know which one I like to look at, but for a track beater I'm wondering which I'd pick. I certainly don't live in fear of the Exocet picking up scratches the way I am with the Catfish.

I'm tempted but I have some reservations about the extra $6000 for what is functionally some extra bits of fiberglass.

dculberson wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: Lack of side intrusion bars was my main concern but they are working on it currently. Plus I would love upper side bars that were removable but that sort of stuff I could fab myself.

Does this not count as having side intrusion bars? (Maybe I'm confused as to what you mean?)

That is exactly what I mean. Wonder why he did not know about them or he did not understand the question.

mblommel wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: In that case, I'd be happy to take your order for a Catfish Ours is 1750 lbs wet with a turbocharged engine. Flat floor, functional diffuser, lots of room inside. Someone installed depowered steering in it so it's lost the light playful feel of the Exocet, but with that fixed it should have a very similar personality. I go back and forth on which one I prefer. I know which one I like to look at, but for a track beater I'm wondering which I'd pick. I certainly don't live in fear of the Exocet picking up scratches the way I am with the Catfish.

I'm tempted but I have some reservations about the extra $6000 for what is functionally some extra bits of fiberglass.

Sure. That's why they're both options. Functionally some extra bits of fiberglass, a flat bottom, a diffuser - it's not as if it's a fundamentally different car. The Exocet kit is a killer deal due to Warren's manufacturing techniques, and that's a big part of the appeal. But you're never going to spend a Sunday morning waxing it just so you can look at it, and you'll have to live with the high drag level at speed as well as the constant stream of crap coming off the front tires. It's more of a naked motorcycle than a car.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

I totally get what you're saying Keith. I love the Catfish, I just think it's a bit overpriced when compared with the Exocet.

I've looked at every picture of the FM Catfish build diary and really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting in your usual detailed manner as you have done in the past with the other FM projects.

New Catfish porn! Lots more found here: http://www.flyinmiata.com/catfish/

Basic kit without interior panels.

Frame with interior panels.

Comparing the two is a very interesting study. The Exocet, especially in track configuration is built like a brick E36 M3house compared to the Catfish, and in the event of a significant impact there's no question that's where I'd rather be. That said, they're really apples and oranges. "overpriced" is purely a subjective. If you value smooth features over the jungle-gym aesthetic, it may not matter how inexpensive the Exocet may be. You could make the case that Cobra replicas are extremely overpriced, yet most owners wouldn't trade their cars for an Exocet and $15k cash.

Man these are absolutely gorgeous I have a new "attainable" dream car now

It's really too bad about those Bangle sides. I think I could tolerate the rest of the car. If you cover up the doors the rest of the car looks pretty good.

I just wish Mazda would have used this grill design for the ND.