Sketch Time

Five minute of work break time = funky sketch time

Don't get this line wrong. No Fear! Super Clifftop Touge Drift.

Green is a military style Renown colour scheme.

Russ.

RE-Xtreme Efini RX-37 Concept.

If you have been following my other Version III blog then you will know I've been obsessed recently with the BN sports kit and race car thoughts. Race cars need race car image, so what is the ultimate livery for the RX7 FD3s.

The rotary legend comes from a few places. I think most imortantly were the older RX3s that performed very well in Japan and America. IMSA racing and LE Mans seemed to build the Rotary Legend. Banning some of these cars only supported this. I tried many designs from a mix of LE-Mans Legends and Iconic liveries. But this is the ultimate in my book (for today anyway).

The 787B was run in Japan after the #55 "Renown" car won Le Mans. While this is a great livery, it doesn't reference the FD well. However, 1991 coincided with the release of the RX7 Efini FD3s in Japan. The 787B was painted to feature the efini badge in the Sportcar World Championship (SWC) race at Autopolis , The actual livery was green and white. 

So taking inspiration from the RX3 and the 787B "Efini", I developed this concept. The front bumper features an enlarged shark nose RX3 like grill and the body wears modern black side skirts (rough reference to RX3 over fenders.) and the final grey Efini livery is a derivation for ultimate combat mode.

This one above features a more LM style with 24Hr Lighting and some old school wheel covers and wing reminiscent of the early 90's period. The front end doesn't work so well with these style lights because we are not used to seeing lights way above the grill on an RX3.

This normal style race version seems to work well with an old school MS Type II rear wing. The chrome accents really work well.

This was the base for my funky upgraded RX-37 concept. Bonnet line on this is changed also although the B-pillar is standard unlike the others. Kind of hides the lights with the carbon bonnet.

Russ.

Hodgkinson-san's Britcar Racer

I always wonder how the Japanese are going to say, "Hodgkinson" when they add "-san" to the end of names. Anyway there's 2 of them so that confuses the issue more especially when translated back to mid japlish. Hodgkinson-sans??. Anyway, that's totally off track.

Welcome to Alex and David's ADHMotorsport showpiece. These projects always seem to take 2~3 years and a whole lot of cash. They have invested heavily in their project thats emerging as something great.



In their words.

"This is a car we're putting together to race in modified endurance races in the UK in a series called Britcar. All of the cars run slicks and wings with the main theme of the series being power to weight ratio - we can run at 1050kg if we don't put out more than 420bhp. Other than that it's pretty open, we can modify the car as much as we like as long as we retain most of the factory chassis.. kind of like Time Attack, so we'll be upping the boost and doing a bit of that too."

To me it sounds like a decent formula for some fun and I hope not too much door to door munching. Starting life as a 1992 Japanese import that was imported to the UK as a 6 month race car project. I think we can all appreciate how things get out of control real quickly. So the blow out to two years is coming to an end. Luckily for us, they have documented the build in images. When you look at them look carefully, because the detail is pretty special.

The monsters heart and supporting gear is as above tuning requires. Not too much, keep response: If anything, the guys may have to detune... hehe. One interesting point is the Diff ratio. 4.777 means the guys will be swapping cogs pretty often but that also means the power is always ON.
- 13B-REW
- Lightened irons
- In-house large street porting using Pineapple Racing (USA) templates
- All bearing and rotor face clearences to Mazda racing spec
- Garrett GT4088R turbo 0.96 A/R
- Radtec intercooler (modified)
- TIAL wastegate
- 4" exhaust with 2 in-line repackable silencers
- 5.5 inch 3-plate Tilton OT-type clutch fully metallic
- OEM gearbox with modified internals
- 4.777:1 diff ratio
- Bosch 044 fuel pump
- Bosch 1650cc injectors
- Siemens 750cc injectors
- Aeromotive FPR
- Radtec radiator (modified)
- Stillway oil coolers
- Solid engine mounts
- Solid diff mounts
- Gearbox and diff underbody supports
- DTA S80 Pro ECU

Chassis work is as expected. Thorough as race regulations are everyone's nightmare. 2 year builds can easily become obsolete overnight as regulations may change. So this one looks like it covers most bases. Some simple changes can see time attack or race series action. Versitility is there.

- Lightened, fully seam welded chassis

- FIA multi-point welded in cage

- In-house solid suspension bushes

- Ohlins remote-reservoir adjustable dampers

- Volk C28N 18" wheels 9.5" front, 10.5" rear

- Dunlop tyres 255 front, 285 rear (SLICK)

Stopping power and handling looks adequate. The top end ohlins suspension with remote reseviors are pretty special items. AP brakes are proven and the chosen sizes should be able to hadle much more than a one lap qualifying run. We are talking real racing here. The springs can be changed easily through the custom strut tops.

- AP Racing brakes all round.
- 362mm discs front with 6-pot calipers
- 330mm discs rear with 4-pot calipers
- AP Racing Air Jacks
- Modified top-mounts allowing for fast spring changes
- In-house manufactured ARB's front and rear
- In-house manufactured ARB mounting brackets

The body has undergone som significant improvements from the original RE-Amemiya ADGT. Wider smoother. Everything that isn't needed is gone. A full flat floor is also incorporated and almost required these days as the world goes aerodynamics crazy.  The wheel arch liners sound interesting too.

- Carbon rear wing

- Super-GT style bodywork based on modified AD-GT body kit (manufactured in-house)

- Comprehensive radiator and oil cooler ducts

- Front diffuser x2

- Flat bottom floor

- Rear diffuser

- Kevlar wheel arch liners

- ATL 75L fuel cell fitted in rear-bin location

- Option for an additional 25L fuel-cell if required

- Lexan rear screen and side windows

- Hardened lexan windscreen

Inside, its all business in the office. There's a mix of tech and mechanical engineering. Plumbing and wires.

- OEM dash, modified

- Ventilation fans

- Race Technology DASH2 display

- Race Technology DL1 GPS data logger

- Bride low-max seat

- Lowered and modified seat rails

- AP Racing floor-mounted pedal box

- Fully adjustable Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) column

- Option to replace with standard steering column for weight saving (for Time Attack)

So get out your calculator and start crunching the numbers, then tripple it and you'll get close to these guys. Then add time and your passion. (something I'm looking forward too)

As these pedals wait to get the pressure. These guys have thought about a LOT. Take the inspiration for your own projects. I will too. We look forward to seeing the car with some colour and debut. We can watch their progress here for more inspiration.

Good job! Keep us posted Alex & David Hodgkinson. The Racing Hodgkinson-sans'ses

Russ.