Autosport Magazine - "Radical Thinking"

National Focus - This British firm has stamped its mark on club racing and is gradually going global. MARCUS PYE tests four of its highly effective racers.

"In just seven years, almost 400 machines have rolled out of Radical's factory. Last year it made a record 150 cars"

Phenomenal. That's perhaps the only way to describe the rise of Radical Sportscars. To even contemplate setting up a race car manufacturing company in an era when the industry's giants were failing, and the number of British marques had regressed to 50's levels was held as madness.

Yet club racers Phil Abbott and Mick Hyde made it work, achieving an ambitious 50-grid at Spa in remarkably short order. In just seven years, almost 400 machines have rolled out of Radical's Peterborough factory. Last year it made a record 150 cars - more than veteran market leader Van Diemen, which celebrated its 30th anniversary!

Where Hyde and Abbott scored was in their ability to temper their dreams as capable club racers with a dose of reality, using the same energy, focus and acumen which brought them impressive success in diverse spheres.

Unsurprising, the pair are perfect foils for each other. Hyde 55 is a gregarious frontman for Radical. As one might expect of somebody who made his name in the dizzy worlds of advertising, marketing and commercial photography, presentation, attention to detail and perception are crucial. Abbott, 49 is quieter, a genial thinker who inspires new core projects and seeks pragmatic engineering solutions to the problems they raise. A concern he founded still manufactures tanning equipment and toning tables for beauty salons.

Hyde credits Abbott with the concept of building a motorcyle-engined sports racer, initially for their own amusement, in 1996, when they were racing a Caterham 7 and a Mazda RX-7 respectively. But it was talented in-house designer Nick Walford who translated it into an elegantly simple machine which hit the tracks in May '97. The 1100cc Kawasaki-powered chassis' performance spoke for itself in the 750 Motor Club's Sports 2000 series. Rivals immediately wanted replicas, and Hyde's marketing prowess went into overdrive.

An exciting new era of club racing opened with the inaugural one-make championship of 1998, won by saloon convert Paul Rose. But nothing stands still in an aspirational business, thus with each new model's arrival, lap times have fallen and the Radical family has grown. The marque's web of influence now embraces the globe, with representation on six continents.

It is easy to see why. Four cars from the mainstream racing range, offering performance from exhilarating to sensational. And the shatteringly, quick road-legal SR3 Turbo (see Autosport March 7) is also competition proven. With 320bhp on tap and weighing just 550kg, this £50,000 device - while admittedly short on the creative comforts of your daily driver - leaves most auto exotica cowering.

That you don't have to go the whole hog financially to get the Radical bug was forcibly brought home to me when I drove the set of cars on Brands Hatch's Indy Circuit earlier this month. While I was eager to get my hands on a brand new SR4 and one of the sexy SR3s which made their debut last year, I wanted first to reacquaint myself with the Clubsport and Prosport, which compete in Britain's Biduro and Enduro championship respectively.

Powered by an 1100cc Kawasaki ZZR engine, the original Clubsport was immediately hailed as a star, and was soon winning open races. But it really came into its own when a full grid of the cars went head-to-head for the first time at Donington Park in 1998.

Endowed with extraordionary roadholding for a lightweight, thanks to its ingenious Nik-link front suspension - a transverse torsion bar of rising rate - the Clubsport's handling was honed further by single-seater ace Michael Vergers, to the point where its roadholding limits in the fastest of corners were raised well beyond the belief of amateurs.

While it responds to a pro's touch for the ultimate lap times, the real beauty of the easy-to-run model for the weekend warrior, though is that it can be flung around with abandon on its relatively hard tyres and darted into corners at seemingly impossible speeds, with the engine screaming out encouragement. For real seat-of-the-pants feel and cheeky character, it offers the best value for money available, and has just spawned a fledgling race series in Malaysia.

Using the same chassis, albeit with wings (and now rear venturis too), the DSR Prosport moved the game up several notches. At the heart of the transformation is a 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa engine, which is much torquier than the smaller Kawasaki unit and makes the car feel both quicker and a whole lot more responsive.

The medium downforce aerodynamic package's assistance can clearly be felt through quicker corners like Paddock Hill Bend, where there are benefits under braking and, from the dive planes on the nose, on turn-in. The Prosport with its Nik-link suspension at both ends, demands smooth and precise work in the cockpit to eke the maximum from its Dunlop tyres.

Fun to drive hard, albeit in a different way to more sophisticated cars of similar performance such as the SR3, the Prosport, like the Clubsport, is popular with competitors in Special GT races around Britain, and a series has recently taken off in Sweden. They are available new or second-hand from under £15,000. Radical usually has several in stock, part-chopped against new cars.

Launched at Autosport International in January, the SR4 Clubsport has superseded the original model with which it will share the track in the sprint race series. Aggressively styled, taking cues from the Le Mans-winning Bentley and Audi cars, it boasts a grown-up specification.

Seven inches shorter and narrower than the SR3, the immensely strong chassis is clothed in a high-sided multi-piece body for maximum driver-protection.

It feels stiff too, and the latest 1200cc Kawasaki ZZR engine punches its pace down towards the SR3 bracket - the quickest regular competitors cut low 47-second times at Brands in testing. The SR4's four-pot brakes are very efficient, but with more mechanical grip than the old Clubsport its not quite as chuckable. Yet.

Czech tyre company Matador is sponsoring the Biduro championship, and supplying control rubber. Having worked closely with Radical on construction and compounds, the radial covers have proved to be immensely consistent and durable with drivers matching early times after 100 laps....

Sleek and slinky, the SR3 Supersport is a scaled-down World Sports Car which deserves to be out to play with the big boys. It curvaceous high down-force aero kit is well tuned to the stroked 1500cc Hayabusa engine which belts out more than 250bhp with instant throttle response. That's 500bhp per ton!

Unlike its sibling, the SR3 dispenses with chain and sprocket in favour of a gear drive set-up custom developed by Radical's Powertec division and transmission specialist Quaife. Super-effiicent brakes sit inside the big wheels, with four-pot Super-efficient gripping ventilated discs.

Sitting within its longer wheelbase, I felt lower in the SR3's cockpit than in the other cars, and immediately felt as one with it. Again, you have to play to the chassis' strengths by being neat and trying to carry as much momentum as it will allow. Paddock and McLaren where, as you would expect, the line is set once committed to the power.

The Supersport really picks up its heels out of Clearways onto the Brabham Straight, where each sequential upchange is met with another yowl of acceleration. While its greater frontal area might not allow it to match a Prosport in a straight-line sprint, I got the impression that better corner exit speeds from mid-speed bends would negate any real difference on a circuit.

That Radical has balanced the dynamics of old and new models to keep both competitive in each of its championships is highly impressive. Jonathan Coleman and "rent-a-pro" Nigel Greensall won last season's Enduro title in a proven Prosport, but that will only inspire the SR3 brigade to try that much harder. With machinery developed over the winter, it is out for revenge, but great racing is all that matters. It all starts at Donington on Saturday.

Factory Settings

A Trip to Radical's bright and airy 25,000 foot nerve centre will leave the customer hugely impressed. The assembly shop is a hive of activity, where red-coated technicians scurry around attaching parts to embryonic chassis. Over the course of a morning progress is tangible, as twin lines of colourful cars take shape alongside the works race preparation bays.

Production is running at four cars a week, possible only because of the ordered manner in which everything comes together. A majority of the componentry for each kit is made in-house by sister firm Amicon Engineering. Steel spaceframe chassis are fabricated in the adjoining unit, together with suspension uprights and wishbones. Hubs are forged and turned in the traditional way, while CNC machines whir away milling dry sump pans for Suzuki and Kawasaki engines.

These bear the logo of Powertec, the engine tuning division run by ex-sidecar racer Ted Hurrell which has blossomed under Radical's wing. New motorcycle units arrive in batches of 25 for modification to suit car applications. Development is aided by a rolling road test cell and a dynamometer

Over the road, Radical Composites turns out fibreglass bodywork and an expanding range of carbon fibre ancillaries from bucks and moulds prepared on site. By keeping everything centralised, changes are made quickly and cost-effectively. Control of every area is key to the success of this booming enterprise, in which quality and stock levels (up to £1.25 million of parts is held) are crucial to customers the world over. That and a staff who are passionate about the products, led by men of vision who saw a niche motorsport market and have grown it into an aspirational business which fulfils dreams for racers, track day goers and road drivers.

"Giving customers what they want is vital" says founder Mick Hyde "But anticipating what will turn then on a few years down the line is equally crucial to the long-term success of Radical". The V8 engine which we are developing with Quaife is important, because it will turn Powertec from a tuner into an engine manufacturer.

"We plan to test and debug it in an SR3 this year and launch it for sale at Autosport International next January. Then we will build a new car specifically around it in 2005. With supercars getting ever-heavier, 650kg car with around 400bhp for a target price of £60,000 will be a shock. I'm confident the SR8 will knock the socks off the road car market like the Lotus Elan did in the 60's."

Despite the company's racing record. Its sales performance and growth from nothing to a company employing around 70 people, Hyde is cautious. "Building cars on this scale is not inherently a profitable business. With a turnover of £5.5 million in 2003 Radical wiped its nose. If we are going to be successful the only way to stay ahead is with investment.

"The assistance of Tim Greaves [a customer who saw the potential and invested in the business in its infancy] has helped us enormously and we've set our own agenda and not run to the bank's. Tim is now doing a great job opening new markets, but Phil Abbott and I invest every penny back into Radical."

CLUBSPORT

CHASSIS	Steel Spaceframe
ENGINE	1100cc Powertec Kawasaki ZZR
POWER OUTPUT	185bhp
GEARBOX	Six-speed Sequential
TRANSMISSION	Chain/Limited-Slip Differential
SUSPENSION	Double Wishbone/Nik-link (front only)
BRAKES	Four-pot Calipers (ventilated front option)
WHEELS	Cast Alloy: 6×13" (f), 8×13" (r)
LENGTH X WIDTH	3820mm × 1520mm
DRY WEIGHT	440kg
COST	POA

PROSPORT

CHASSIS	Steel Spaceframe
ENGINE	1300cc Powertec Suzuki/Hayabusa
POWER OUTPUT	205bhp
GEARBOX	Six-speed Sequential
TRANSMISSION	Chain/Limited-Slip Differential
SUSPENSION	Double Wishbone/Nik-link
BRAKES	Four-pot Calipers (ventilated (f/r)
WHEELS	Cast Alloy: 13×8" (f), 13×10" (r)
LENGTH X WIDTH	3820mm × 1520mm
DRY WEIGHT	470kg
COST	From £24,265 + VAT

SR3 SUPERSPORT

CHASSIS	Steel Spaceframe
ENGINE	1300cc or 1500cc Powertec Suzuki/Hayabusa
POWER OUTPUT	205-252bhp
GEARBOX	Six-speed Sequential
TRANSMISSION	Powertec Quaife Gear Drive
SUSPENSION	Double Wishbone/Nik-link
BRAKES	Four-pot Calipers (ventilated (f/r)
WHEELS	Cast Alloy: 7×15" (f), 8×16" (r)
LENGTH X WIDTH	4050mm × 1800mm
DRY WEIGHT	510kg
COST	From £28,469 + VAT

SR4 CLUBSPORT

CHASSIS	Steel Spaceframe
ENGINE	1200cc Powertec Kawasaki ZZR
POWER OUTPUT	190bhp
GEARBOX	Six-speed Sequential
TRANSMISSION	Chain/Limited-Slip Differential/Integral Reverse Gear
SUSPENSION	Double Wishbone/Nik-link
BRAKES	Four-pot Calipers (ventilated (f/r)
WHEELS	Cast Alloy: 13×7" (f), 13×8" (r)
LENGTH X WIDTH	3730mm × 1630mm
DRY WEIGHT	450kg
COST	From £23,175 + VAT

V8 Engine For Radical

Radical's new lightweight motorcycle-derived Powertec V8 engine, which is due to be track-tested this summer prior to its launch at Autosport International next January, is set to open important markets for the innovative Peterborough-based sports racing car constructor.

The ultra-compact engine, which shares some components with the Suzuki Hayabusa 'four' used in Radical's SR3 and Prosport models, is expected to develop 350bhp in its 'standard' 2.6-litre form, for a target price of £14,000 + VAT .

Radical Sportscars co-founder Mick Hyde said "That will make it a sure-fire option for speed hillclimbers, and we have already had some unexpected interest from leading grass-track racers who have recognised it potential."

By changing the crankshaft throw and pistons, which will increase the cost, 2.0 and 3.0 litres capacity versions of the engine will also be available, to suit different applications and class structures.

Designed by Steve Prentice, the V8 carries its in-line oil and water pumps low down, and features a Formula 1-Style cellular dry-sump scavenge system for maximum reliability. Prentice reckons it will sound "like a slightly out of tune Cosworth DFV".

Built in conjunction with transmission specialist Quaife, the V8 can be rear-mounted, mated to its own six-speed sequential transaxle complete with dry clutch or fitted amidships in production sportscars with a custom-made conventional gearbox. Counter-rotating balance shafts - pioneered by Lanchester and featured in the big 'fours' which power Porsche 944s - will be an option to cut resonance on road-going units.

Radical sees the V8 outstripping demand for the Hayabusa Turbo engine in SR3 Roadsports models, but has no plans to race it in our own championships in 2005. But Hyde admitted: " I have a sneaking feeling that a V8 class could be run alongside the 1500cc cars in our 2006 Enduro series".

Season is go

Radical racing enters its seventh season at Donington Park on Saturday, with big grids for the Biduro and Enduro series. Twelve new SR4 chassis will take on 12 proven Clubsports for the first time in Biduros. Adrian Mardlin, Mick Mercer, Alex Mortimer, former Superkart ace Chris Stoney and Duncan Williams among those who will run SR4s.

The twin 100km race format of the Enduro series brings out the higher downforce 250bhp chargers. Reigning co-champion Nigel Greensall is teamed with Lawrence Tomlinson in an SR3, while his 2003 partner Jonathan Coleman will share his Prosport with Simon Phillips.