Rocket's return: McLaren F1's forefather set to make a comeback
Gordon Murray has had his hands in a number of impressive projects over the years. Be it Formula one or the McLaren F1, if Murray is involved, you know it's going to light, balanced and fast.
One of Murray's more intriguing projects was the Rocket, a lightweight, road-going tribute to the open-wheeled racers of yesteryear. Originally equipped with a 143 HP Yamaha superbike engine, the Rocket was able to reach 60 MPH in a mere four seconds, primarily due to its minimalist design.
That was in the 90s. Now, Chris Craft, 24 Hours of Le Mans veteran and avid car collector, and his son Luke have decided to introduce a modern version of the Rocket, powered by a 1150cc Yamaha mill that makes up to 170 HP. Said engine will be nestled within the nuevo-retro body to create an 877-pound terror that might justify it's $100k price tag.
Only 10 Rockets will be produced each year, but with the new found popularity of lightweight track toys, we expect most to be spoken for as soon as the Craft's set up shop.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike 1:38PM (5/11/2007)
What a great track car. Closest thing to an F1 experience most RMF's (rich middle-aged fantasy-chasers) will get. I'll take one...
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Mike 1:43PM (5/11/2007)
P.S. Does it come in black and gold? ;-) (Obscure John Player reference)
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gary 4:13PM (5/11/2007)
I'd say it's about $85K overpriced and it looks more like the Cooper or Lotus F1 cars of the late 1950's.
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Don 4:27PM (5/11/2007)
(directed at the above poster)
...said the guy who can't afford $100k track cars.
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dan 9:54PM (5/11/2007)
you know what, I find myself in agreement with most everything gordon murray does and even would put him in my top ten favorite automotive engineers, but damn if there are more than a few people on this planet that can say they've driven a car he really had any hand in. f1 was limited to 100 cars, and I think there were only 85 roadgoing ones, the first rocket was built in some ridiculously tiny number, this one's only going to be produced at 10 a year at 100k, and Chris Craft isn't much better. What, are there even 20 Vemacs? How about a major manufacturer hires these guys to do a car that people might actually see more than once in a lifetime. Oh, and the Caparo. I'm sure I'll come across one in a mall parking lot. Geez. Lee Noble has designed a ferrari p4 replica, the ultima spyder (not the canam), the ultima sports, the ascari FGT, the noble m10, m12, m12gto-3/-r/400, m14 concept, m15, and probably half a dozen others I don't even know about, and each of those was made in significant numbers without getting 1/10 as much press as Gordon Murray has. ...../rant
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