Toy wish list:

[DNW]

Seeing an old Top Gear video of the Carver tonight prompted me to start a wish list.

I'd love one of these:

They'll be available in the US in late '06 for about $50K. Top speed of about 120mph, 0-60 in about 8s. It seats 2, and is a semi-convertible. It's also classified as a motorcycle.

Top Gear review: http://www.dumpalink.com/media/11507..._Carver_Review

More Info: http://www.carver-europe.com/index.php http://www.carver-europe.com/00images.php

 

[imageWIS]

Ariel Atom 2:

300 HP Supercharged K20A-R version, 0-60: 2.9 sec. $45,000, available in the US. Jon.

 

[SGladwell]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

They'll be available in the US in late '06 for about $50K. Top speed of about 120mph, 0-60 in about 8s. It seats 2, and is a semi-convertible. It's also classified as a motorcycle.
While I love the concept, I see three insurmountable problems for this vehicle as currently implemented: 1) $50k. Significantly exceeding the price of the cheapest exotic sports car an American can buy (the Lotus Elise) seems like a very risky move. After all, the Elise is much quicker, has an established exotic badge and thus a ready resale market, and is reasonably eco-friendly with its low mass, high recyclable materials content, and borderline acceptable fuel economy. The Elise also is likely safer, though a case could be made that in the US at least some height is a huge safety benefit. 2) According to the website, a slushbox is planned for US market, along with a different engine. (I wonder what the engined used in the EU is. I assumed the Smart turbo triple until I read that it has 16 valves. Maybe some Japanese Kei-class car engine?) Nobody who's interested in a driving machine will go anywhere near one of those wretched, satanic abominations. Just because we live between Mexico and Canada does not mean that we're all effete pussies with left legs severely atrophied from lack of use, who could never be expected to master a task as taxing of strength and hand-eye coördination as shifting gears. Well, perhaps the 95%+ who would never be interested in such a machine anyway are precisely those things... 3) 39mpg. (They say 40 but according to an online calculator that's optimistic for their quoted 6L/100km EU spec.) Something that small and light better damn well do significantly better than a lumbering Toyota Corolla (36 average per fueleconomy.gov), to say nothing of the hybrids or the more advanced current production EU-market cars such as the "3-liter" VW Lupo. (Note that I didn't list acceleration, except in comparison with the Elise. I bet an 8-second 0-60 time will feel bloody quick in a tiny enclosed capsule like that. I don't see a need for much more in that department, even given that minivans are 8-second vehicles in America today.) So after having lost most of the market with the price, any remaining driving enthusiasts with the slushbox, and the granola set mileage that's at least 10-15mpg shy of where such a machine should be. I guess that leaves...the Segway "sidewalk SUV" market? All the more a pity, because a well-implemented, reasonably priced - say $25-30k, which should be doable considering that BMW's supercool C1 is around USD10k in the UK, and - machine like that would get a chunk of my savings in a hurry. I really do love the concept, and hope somebody implements it well in the future.

 

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

Ariel Atom 2:

300 HP Supercharged K20A-R version, 0-60: 2.9 sec. $45,000, available in the US.

Jon.
Whoa, the Ariel is road legal in the US? I thought it was a track-only car. I've always wanted a ride in one of those.

A.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Aaron

Whoa, the Ariel is road legal in the US? I thought it was a track-only car. I've always wanted a ride in one of those.

A.

It's legal and with a Honda engine it should be relatively easy to service. Just don't get caught in the rain...(nothing will happen to the car, but you will be drenched).

I honestly can't think of another weekend car I would rather have. This thing kills a Lotus Elise (even if it doesn't look as good and has no roof or windshield; that's what helmets are for!).

Jon.

 

[visionology]

I'd wear it sans helmet just to see how many bugs I could catch in my mouth.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by visionology

I'd wear it sans helmet just to see how many bugs I could catch in my mouth.

Supplement your daily protein intake?

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by SGladwell

I really do love the concept, and hope somebody implements it well in the future.

The VW GX3 does it much better (on paper, at least):

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...cle_1647.shtml

The Carver looks overengineered just to get that leaning feeling.

--Andre

 

[SGladwell]

Yeah, that VW's orgasm inducing. (Assuming, of course, that there's reasonable cargo space - the Elise's 4.0 cubic feet is a useful minimum - and not some halfassed can't-fit-a-shoebox bin as found in the failed MR2 Spyder or soon-to-be-a-failure Pontiac Solstice.) A Morgan trike reinterpreted for the 21st century. The sub-$20k projected price was just right for that kind of thing, too.

Unfortunately, liability issues appear to have nixed it.

 

[javyn]

 

[dusty]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

It's legal and with a Honda engine it should be relatively easy to service. Just don't get caught in the rain...(nothing will happen to the car, but you will be drenched).

I honestly can't think of another weekend car I would rather have. This thing kills a Lotus Elise (even if it doesn't look as good and has no roof or windshield; that's what helmets are for!).

Jon.

I've been dying to drive an Atom since I saw that episode of Top Gear, to which I assume you're referring.

 

[designprofessor]

Ride only lasts five seconds, but it would be a hell of a five seconds!

 

[RJman]

I just want a TVR.

 

[norcaltransplant]

Music Fidelity Integrated

Totem Wind (Canadian Speakers, dont ya know!)

I havent figured out the source, maybe Rega...

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by RJman

I just want a TVR.

Better pick one up asap. The company is going belly up fairly soon. On the other hand, you might be able to get a good discount at the firesale.