I would have LOVED to have been at MRLS today rather than go back to the office. I friggin' hate days like this.

 

I'm visiting with my exhaust suppliers at Competition Werkes. A carbon Catfish exhaust would be over the top, no?

 

no

 

Of course not! Nothing is over the top!

 

Moar welds?

 

looks like a rocketship

 

A classy one!

 

Who needs rounds when you can have 26 straights?

 

I posted some of these up on the website. We're waiting on the final aluminum interior panels for a fitment check. Once we've proven that the real thing acts like the computer simulation, we'll start real production on the first two cars.

We've come a long way from the start of this project; the frame alone is made of over 100 individual tubes and brackets. Our game plan for the interior is solid, and I think the car is progressing on the right track.

 

The whole idea for the exhaust--besides showing off--is to make it like the two stroke GP bikes of old. They used to have expansion chambers made from paper-thin titanium, which required truly intricate hand-crafted welds in order to pull the most power from the engine.

Competition Werkes uses very thin-wall stainless that doesn't take kindly to mandrel bends. Even if it did, it's worth it to see the beautiful hand-welded TIG connections.

 

I'm back from a little vacation to Tahoe Donner with the family last week.

This is one of those weeks that helps put life in perspective; I missed a stair on Wednesday night, and ended up breaking one ankle and spraining the other. This is my first broken bone EVER. Somehow with things speeding up with the car, I doubt a broken bone will be able to slow me down.

Then on Friday something bizarre happened; my wife was spraying the kids with sun screen prior to taking them to camp. She looked over and 20' away a black bear was watching their antics from the bushes. They got in the garage PRONTO, and I watched as he wandered off behind the house. My 8 year old had been outside by himself five minutes earlier...bear food.

Sometimes little setbacks can appear big, until something comes along to make it look pretty trivial. We're chuckling about the bear episode now, but it could have turned out much differently.

 

Sometimes I forget about a product that I made 13 years ago. It's nice to see that it still gets some recognition...

Best Motorcycle Product of 2013

 

What do you think?

 

I think it looks great! I'd buy one once I'm bored of my Miata's tired chassis.

 

Personally i dont like the orange on the bottom. Just doesnt flow with the rest of the car. IMO it would be a lot better if the grille it self was orange (and burried in the back) while the rest of the front end was the carbon fiber color.

 

Pretty, but I am partial to white.

 

cool rendering; would be better if real thing in my garage.

 

Yeah but only if its trubod.

 

The orange accent on the grill can be made smaller. However, take a look at the white car to the left. That grill is grey, not black, and it can hardly be seen. THAT is the main reason for accentuating the grill openings.

While assembling Bill's interior in his frame yesterday, we put a stock Miata windshield on the frame, just to see how it would look. Honestly, I'd say it looks better than this rendering.

The windshield in this render is custom made for the car, and it fairly "square". It also stands up like the stock shield. We took the stock shield and gave it quite a Lamborghini-style rake, and it just looked spectacular. I know what our next project is next year...

 

How high are the door sills? Perhaps it might not be a bad idea to design doors?