Originally Posted by
S Lathrop
That is a very good target price range for a entry to mid level car. Problem is that for purpose built race cars, formula and sports racing, cost way more than that new. In the quantities that we are selling cars today, you can not build a competitive new car for FF, FC, or FB/F1000 for double that. I estimate that because of the body work for a sports racer, you are talking $10,000 to $15,000 more than a formula car.
The last "volume" produced formula car in the US was the Radon. As best as I can tell that car cost about $90,000 or there about. At that price, you only have a few customers. The going price for winning FC is more like $50,000. That is only possible because there are a lot of very competitive used cars, i.e. late model VDs.
Years ago, I structured my business after the "amateur built" aircraft in the US. In that market, you only make those parts that the builder/driver can not do for himself. By recycling parts and doing ones own assembly, a customer can build a competitive car for close to the $50,000.
A few years ago, I propose that we do a FF type car but using a single 600cc bike engine and transmission, similar to Dwarf Cars and Mini Sprints.. The rules for the class would contain drawings for certain standard parts. Builders would do their own suspension links, frames and bodies. But many parts would be common to all cars. Common parts could be built by anybody but to the drawings contained in the rules. Builders of common components would have to mark their parts to identify who made them so that if the part was ever found not to comply with the drawings, the offending parts could easily be identified. Competition from manufacturers of common components would drive the costs to a sustainable minimum.
Like Formula Vee, where every car is built from a box of standardized parts, this class would be based on standardized designs for many components. The beginnings of Formula Ford was very much like FV with most cars using a large number of common parts such as wheels, uprights, brakes, transmission, engine and bell housings. I went so far as to draw up front corner that could be built for about $500. That was a wheel, brake caliper, rotor, spindle and upright. Sadly there was no interest in exploring the idea.