NY Times Reviews Radial SR3

[ctracer18]

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...sema2_20120724

Sherman

P.S. Spoiler alert ... they like it!

[flat tappet]

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...sema2_20120724

Sherman

P.S. Spoiler alert ... they like it!

For 10K(instead of 150K) you can do the same thing in a F500.....LOL.

[turnbaugh]

Can someone explain the fascination with Radicals?

A Honda K20 car engine powered SR with a car transaxle is:

Less expensive
More reliable
Faster
Has more torque (easier to drive fast)
Maintains higher resale value (There are a lot of $30,000 Radicals around)
More contemporary suspension design


What am I am I missing?

Is it the Marketing?

[Brett Lane]

Don't know- never owned one. Never cared much for the original Prosport, but always liked the SR-3.

Not sure about the reliability of the 'Busa, but for 30k....

Once in a while I wonder what my LAST club car would be, and this one is on my list.

[Evl]

I've always thought an SR8 would have a pretty good soundtrack.

But 1500 lbs of downforce seems pretty optimistic, doesn't it?

[brownslane]

Dean, a lot of it is the hype. But Radical had struck a chord when it introduced its cars on the market and do an incredible marketing job...real smart marketing when you can race your Radical against (and only against) other Radicals....all the cars are equal so nobody gets to compare against other makes and marques. As well, for the well-heeled, Radical series vendors offer the opportunity to drive fast, scare passengers on track days, and do so without getting their hands dirty.

The author of the piece may be a writer, but is not a racer..so any car with a couple of G's of lateral grip will thrilling to ride in; note I said ride in... I get the impression that in addition to driving the car, the author also was driven by a pro driver....and (at least for me) it always feels faster from the passenger side....

Radical has developed and evolved its brand incredibly well. You can "race" a Radical at a track day, a driving experience, a race series, heck, even in video games. All these things have evolved the brand.


I own a Radical (SR-4) and it is nothing special, certainly not worth anything like the prices they charge. But I am in the small minority of Radical owners. Most want a cool car that impresses their friends....they probably own additional cachet cars as well; it is more about prestige than ultimate speed....

The old adage in sales is "Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle" Radical has done this in spades.

For a new SR3, 1,500 lbs at 125 mph is not outside the realm of possible. There is a pretty effective and evolved aero package going on here.

That's my view, at least.

Best

[Rick Kean]

Migrating the school between the Catskills and the Mojave is brilliant

[ctracer18]

Migrating the school between the Catskills and the Mojave is brilliant

I wonder why Florida was not considered, or maybe still can be done. Have to believe there are more racers in the fall to spring season in Florida than in Nevada.

Sherman

[KenT]

It was a very successful marketing machine. They started with a concept of building a relatively reasonable (when they started with the original prosport) racing car that had a series for racers to compete around the UK and then expanded to around Europe. From what I could see from over here, the weekends were a success and they built up a strong customer base. Once they had that base, they expanded the lineup to a have the SR3 which was faster and better looking and had an option for current owners to trade up. They expanded the series to include this new variant and all new variants they developed. It worked and the customer base seems happy, although now they are priced very high relatively.

Kind of like the FE. Its not the sexiest formula car out there. Buying one new is more expensive than buying a used other formula car with a spares package. But the racing has proved to be competitive because its mainly a drivers battle and the drivers like it. They have sold a bunch of them in the last number of years to prove the point.

When Radical tried to expand outside their little world to race in other series, they basically have failed so that is not their focus(SCCA, IMSA lites, etc). I beleive they even tried to have SCCA modify the rules here in the states to make their cars more competitive. If that would have worked we probably would have seen more of them on this side of the pond.

Getting back to marketing, they have produced solid websites to market the cars, brochures, newsletters, and videos. You can find a lot of information if you want to about the cars. That is a big deal. When you research other cars, sometimes a lot of information is tough to find. Their machine is big enough to support this, whereas the smaller manufacturers perhaps are spending more time engineering and building rather than pure marketing.

The CN class is building in Europe to be very strong, although with so many manufacturers splitting up the pie it probably is tough for the manufacturers. Cars like that will only catch on here if there is a series for them to compete competitively with a pro or semipro series to bring in some numbers.

[turnbaugh]

Thanks for the responses. It just seems crazy people pay $105,000 for those when you can get something better for less.

That is indeed the role of marketing.

[KenT]

If I am not mistaken, the founders were business men, not necessarily race car designers and one of which owned an advertising agency. Nuff said.

[KenT]

On eSportsracer today...

"2013 will see the start of a brand new sports racer championship - the SR1 Cup - devised to bring new drivers into motorsport via a very cost-effective package that includes Radical's entry-level SR1 car, Alpinestars Radical race suit, and a comprehensive training and race program.

It all begins with the race licence procedure (for those who need it), followed by two instructor-assisted trackdays, and a competitive Bedford Autodrome ‘How Fast’ event. It culminates with eight races at some of the best circuits in the UK, all for the incredible price of just £37,500 - and you get to keep the car. You can’t go faster or have more fun for less!"

There goes another 50 cars out the door with owners who will soon get a taste for speed and want to move up. A solid marketing strategy and execution can be a powerful thing.

[turnbaugh]

We need a series like this here.

Eight 3 to 6 hours races per year.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIbf5...eature=related

[dereklola]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIbf5_eKIGM&feature=related[/URL]

"Start out on the road to Le Mans"
- don't you just love that phrase - talk about marketing!

(You've got to realize that in the UK Le Mans is almost as popular and well-known to the man in the street as soccer or beer.)

[rkjz4h]

I recently purchased a 06 sr3 with the 250hp busa. I bought the car because i loved the idea of sharing the experience with others. Where else can you get a real race car with 2 seats. I have run shifter karts and an fe for the past 10+ yrs and was amazed at the balance amd ease of driving it fast the first lap i took. I am not sure what the issue is about the suspension design but when it grips like glue and it is so well balanced who cares. I have 20 heat cycle dunloos and it still will run at fe speed. The finish is very good - much better than than the VD FE even though that is a low bar. Everything fits, well designed aluminum components, nothing rubs together and you dont have the chain headache.

For me it isnt about racing considering you have dogs and cats and very few c and d running at any event anyway. The thing is a tank with steel uprights and tubular a arms and with the full body i think it is a much safer car than my open wheel at comparable speed. If i bump wheels i know who is going to win that battle. I wanted the sr5 with the drive train described but it is 150 lbs heavier and then you get into all the gears and clutch issues like my fe. Radical has stopped making that k20/hewland car and resell is not as good as the sr3. I love driving the car and seeing the smile on peoples faces - and it looks great. The only dissapointment is it is too quiet. I would prefer the 10500 rpm scream more as we fly past the 150k ferraris and porsches.

Good question why someone would pay 100k for a busa radical when you can buy an adr for 75m. At 40 it is a no brainer. Of course if it is about racing for 75k i am looking at a carbon tub/dp02 and tunnels or a west/stohr.

See you at the track. Be safe.

[JakeL]

Is it the Marketing?

Bingo.

Also, the entry-level models (Prosport etc) that are much cheaper help get the foot in the door for later upsells, I'd wager.

But, the marketing is tremendous.

That said, I loved my Radical, but I learned very early on not to believe the kool-aid.

-Jake

[turnbaugh]

Thanks for the insight guys.