Miata Based Racer

What do you peeps think of the design? Miata Based.

http://bauerltd.com/

Can't see pictures

In reply to kreb:

what about now?

Not a whole lot of Miata left.

Trans_Maro wrote: Not a whole lot of Miata left.

To me...that's a good thing. Don't really care for the look of the Miata. Then I look at this thing...and I'm not sure if it's an improvement.

Front end designs seems really bulky, not personally a fan of that.

I like it a lot. I think it's a beautiful design. I expected it to be just a fiberglass cladding kit but was surprised to see the frame.

looks like an FRS mated with a Z4...

Me no like. The shape is too much like a Z4, a car I'm not a fan of.

It's... interesting... not really a fan of pure roadsters, though... the lack of any sort of top option limits usefulness and where such a car can be used since many tracks have "no convertible" rules. It's hard to say where a car like this would fall.

No.

No.

No.

I have an NB Miata. It looks MUCH better than that thing. All Miatas do.

I'd suggest that if a car needs improving, take an older Z4 and make it look more like an NB Miata.

I like it a lot better then the Miata. The Miata is a Elan clone and this is unique. It does seem like it needs a roll bar.

bravenrace and IanF summed my feelings up. It has very limited utility. If I was gonna do something like that, I'd leapfrog over this straight to an Ariel Atom.

If "Catfish" is the final name, at least its descriptive.

I like it. The upper scallop in the door does look a lot like the Z4 where it arcs back towards the rear wheels, but that may not be too noticeable in the real car versus the rendering. A couple of other views might have been good - and we'll see how the real thing ends up, because little details like those custom headlights can be cripplingly expensive in a low-volume car.

Much better looking than the Exocet. There have been a growing number of concepts that take all the best stuff from a Miata and put it in a new frame and body. I welcome them all!

I'm with Keith. It shows a lot of promise. Definiely a big thumbs up. Hate the name though. Do you really want your car named after a scum-sucking bottom feeder?

That said, if you lowered the upper frame rails you could get a lower average hood height, which I generally find agreeable. I also notice that the motor and cockpit are pushed forward from where they sit on Locosts. Shifting everything rearward would result in better weight distribution if in fact this is going to be a racer and not just a run car. OTOH it does allow for the gas tank to be placed behind the seats which should be safer than the traditional Locost location.

Overall like but not a fan of the door shape/scallop. Door shape needs more coke bottle, ala Ferrari 250 or C3 Corvette.

I suspect it's being built with stock Miata subframes - simply peel the Miata off and drop the Catfish on top. That dictates the location of the engine unless you modify the motor mounts. Then you end up with a long wheelbase unless you cut the PPF and driveshaft.

In reply to Keith:

There's a big build thread here:

http://www.exocars.net/showthread.php?t=11293

I love the concept, but I think the sides and rear need some work as it's WAY too much BMW for me.

I think if Miatae as taut and willing whereas I think of BMWs as rubbery and for pretenders. Do you really want that image for your car?

Not a big fan of the Exo site. Can't see pics without signing up and then there's Karlo's stupid bug sigs.. I have an account but rarely use it. At the moment I can't even remember by screen name so can't log in.

How's the weight distribution on that?

I love the concept, but I think the sides and rear need some work as it's WAY too much BMW for me.

So people will think you're running around in some sort of BMW prototype? I'm OK with that. By the way, I think that Bangle's a genius.

kreb wrote:

I love the concept, but I think the sides and rear need some work as it's WAY too much BMW for me.

So people will think you're running around in some sort of BMW prototype? I'm OK with that. By the way, I think that Bangle's a genius.

A fan club of ONE.

I'm probably just showing my age, but I see a lot of 300SLR in there, in addition to Z4.

I like it. Looks like there would be ample room for a V8 still.

I like it. I like roadsters. To me this car and others like it are all about having a fun toy. Not having a real car.

I looks like it doesn't have doors. This is fine with me. Is not having doors a negative in this segment?