Jetstream SC250: the poor blind man's Atom/X-Bow/Elise

Another British track tool is going up against the drool-worthy Ariel Atom, KTM X-Bow and the Lotus Elise. The Jetstream SC250 is styled by Brian Rossi, the same man behind the retro-tastic modern Ford Thunderbird, and although it's not exactly pretty, the SC250's wedge-shaped bodywork is sure to produce a good bit of downforce. Sitting over the rear axle is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger cribbed from the euro-only Astra VXR, giving the SC250 the same front/rear weight distribution as the aforementioned Elise. That spells good things for the handling, as do the wide rubber patches at each corner. Reading over the first road test at Autocar and watching the video posted after the break, those who get behind the wheel quickly forget the controversial styling. However, until we get a chance in the cockpit, this one's taking a distinct back-seat to the Atom.
[Source: Autocar]
Video:







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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
timmer 5:35PM (8/18/2008)
The styling reminds me of the Lamborghini LM002.
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dwightB 5:39PM (8/18/2008)
LMAO @ "blind man's"
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Kyle 5:46PM (8/18/2008)
Lets not forget Caterham... they make pretty affordable micro-track cars.
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Chad 5:51PM (8/18/2008)
Uuuuuuuuuuuuughly. Looks like a lowered golf cart.
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Torrent 5:59PM (8/18/2008)
Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and say this thing is fugly.
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Epyx 6:02PM (8/18/2008)
Is it ever sunny in the U.K.?
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Kitko 8:55AM (8/19/2008)
Amazingly, London has the same number of "sunny days" as Paris and Britons own more cabriolets (open cars, roadsters...) than Italy, France and Spain combined.
Epyx 9:17AM (8/19/2008)
Just seems like every episode of Top Gear has overcast weather similar to this video.
eb110americana 6:05PM (8/18/2008)
Autoblog, I don't know what you're talking about. That's the most attractive riding mower I've ever seen...
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komamura 6:55PM (8/18/2008)
well the well from the seats back it looks like some kind of enzo/gallardo mash up, but that frontend is just horrible.
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komamura 6:59PM (8/18/2008)
also I would expect to see abit more that 130mph out of a 250hp track car
DasBoese 7:49PM (8/18/2008)
Man, that thing's ugly.
But it's the GOOD kind of ugly! :D
I'm probably blaspheming in the eyes of many here, but I really like the utilitarian look of it. You see it and you instantly know that whoever built it didn't care about aesthetics, they meant business.
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996700 7:53PM (8/18/2008)
this car looks like a lowerd volkswagon thing!!!!
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Ed 8:09PM (8/18/2008)
I rather like it.
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Ross 9:04PM (8/18/2008)
It does look like a large ride-on lawnmower.
Astra VXR is also available in Australia and New Zealand (althouhg under HSV's brand name): http://www.hsv.com.au/cars/Eseries/VXR/VXR.asp
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Rman91Bird 10:50PM (8/18/2008)
i'd buy one. i'd take the body off, but i'd buy one
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pottz curren 11:19PM (8/18/2008)
crazy brits ,dont they have enough with the ultimas,radicals,westfields,bristols,morgans,nobles,ariel atoms,invictas,farbios and one and a half million dollars aston martins ,cant they just build a regular car
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MONTE 1:11AM (8/19/2008)
All I can see is a VW Thing.
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Jellodyne 4:41PM (8/20/2008)
Now that you mention it, the modern Thunderbird's pretty ugly too.
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andrew 11:38AM (9/30/2008)
Check out there neighbours. www.javansportscars.com
I'd have the Javan R1 anytime over this Lego car.
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