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cars WCM Ultralite S2k

Setting up a Seven – Wheels and Tires

My new WCM Ultralite S2K

When I initially purchased the Ultralite it was running on a set of generic 7.5″ wide alloys with 235-width Falken Azeni RT-615 tires all around(above). While the Azenis are decent tires (we use them on the Lemons car), they are still street tires and just cannot cope with the absurd power of the seven. After having a few moments of wheelspin in 3rd gear, I decided that while long slides are fun, I did want to go to more grippy setup as well as increase the rear grip level to give the car some better balance.

I quickly learned that one of the more annoying things about having a kit car is the extreme amount of pain you have to go through to get a set of wheels.… Read the rest

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The Mallya Collection

As an Indian, I had heard of Vijay Mallya long before he hit the Formula 1 spotlight as the owner of the Force India F1 team. A true captain of Indian industry, his other hats include accomplished businessman (chairman of United Breweries group and Kingfisher airlines), former politician and enthusiastic sports fan (owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team, the East Bengal football team and the URB Breeders). While I always knew that he was fond of cars, I did not know that he was in fact a serious car collector and his Mallya Collection includes nearly 300 vehicles spread through 4 locations around the world.… Read the rest

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cars WCM Ultralite S2k

Setting up a Seven – Safety

As you can see from the picture above, when I got the Ultralite it came with a simple asymmetrical rollbar that was barely taller than my head. While most track clubs would let me drive the car as is, the lack of side impact protection meant that I was not comfortable tracking the car without a full roll cage. Additionally the existing Ultrashield race seat had no head and neck support and the harnesses were long expired which meant I generally had to perform a full safety upgrade before tracking the car. For this I turned to Tony at TC Design who is the Bay Area’s premier roll cage fabricator.… Read the rest

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cars personal thoughts WCM Ultralite S2k

Setting up a Seven – The Ultralite Experience

My new WCM Ultralite S2K

As many of you know I purchased a Lotus Seven replica called the WCM Ultralite S2K late last year to make it a street legal track toy. While the Ultralite may maintain the spirit of the original Seven, as you can see below, it has a distinctly different shape and has generally larger dimensions to accommodate drivers of all sizes. In order to move this extra bulk (relatively speaking) around it comes with the incredible F20C engine out of the Honda S2000. The end product has some astonishing performance figures:

Weight: 1300 lbs
Horsepower: 240 bhp
Redline: 9000 rpm
Power to weight ratio: 400+ hp/ton
0-60 mph: 3.5 seconds

With the (more) original predecessor

My particular car was the first prototype built by World Class Motorsports and is the actual car used in most of the magazine tests.… Read the rest

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24 Hours of Lemons cars personal

Pink Pig turnkey LeMons car for Sale!

UPDATE: The car is sold!!!

In a bittersweet move, the Formula BMW team is officially retiring from Lemons racing and we are putting our “Pink Pig” lemons car for sale. After 3 years of successful racing the team is splitting up and the members are moving onto other pursuits including Spec Racing. As a result we are selling the Pink Pig as a fully setup turnkey LeMons car for teams who want to get into the series without going through the hassle of building their own car.

Pink Pig at Reno

Car info:

  • 1986 BMW 325 E (E30)
  • Class winner at Reno-Fernley 2009
  • 2 Top 5s and 2 Top 10s in the last 4 races
  • Excellent handling and fast lap times
  • Ultra reliable – no major breakdowns in last 5 races
  • Full safety gear
  • 6 TR-Motorsports wheels with Hankook tires (enough rubber for 2 races)
  • Fully stripped for maximum weight reduction
    • Lexan windshield
    • Sunroof and rear parcel shelf replaced with sheet aluminium
    • Door skins only
    • lightweight sealed battery
    • dashboard, excess wiring and interior completely removed
  • Updated brakes (new master cylinder, stainless steel brake lines, new Hawk race pads, Super Blue racing fluid)
  • Wired for in-car radio (4 radios and helmet mics included)
  • 2 gallon drinks system in place (separate 1 gallon bottles)
  • Cool suit mounting system (cool suit not included)
  • Numerous other safety, reliability and speed modifications – contact for full list
  • Never had any BS Penalties or tech issues
  • “Lemons Legend” on Jalopnik
  • Click here to follow the history of the car and its racing efforts

    • Car package includes all safety gear, radios, wheels, tires, drinks systems, fuel filler hoses, etc… – just add gas and race!… Read the rest