Those looking for a track-only toy with money to burn have plenty of options nowadays. Companies like Ariel, BAC, KTM and Radical exist for those wanting a barebones experience. Plus, you can always build your own track car out of a shell of your desire. Today, it's time to add another name to the ever-growing list of these types of cars: Vandal. Specifically, this car is called the Vandal One.
There's one big thing that differentiates Vandal from the others we mentioned before. It's an American company. Most of these purpose-built track cars come out of the UK or elsewhere in Europe, but this one was engineered right here in metro Detroit. Final assembly also takes place in the Southeast Michigan area. Vandal has been running around on the M1 Concourse, right off Woodward Avenue, as its official test track. Now that the company has emerged from secrecy with a car, we can tell you what they've been testing.
It starts with a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis, along with all carbon fiber body panels. This allows for a curb weight of only 1,224 pounds — ridiculously light for the powertrain we're going to tell you about next. Two different power outputs are going to be offered, but both will use the new Civic Type R engine. In base spec, Vandal turns up the wick a bit for 340 horsepower from the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (it's 306 horsepower stock). Then, there will be an upgrade package that brings the power up to a whopping 560 horses. This version of the Type R's engine is beefed up everywhere to withstand the extra power and is said to rev to 9,000 rpm. Now that's the old high-rpm Honda we know and love, only with much more horsepower. All this power is sent through a six-speed sequential gearbox made by Sadev.
The suspension is pushrod front and rear, using JRi adjustable dampers and sway bars, along with spring rate customizability. In race mode, the One sits a mere two inches from the road, but it can be adjusted through hydraulics all the way up to five inches off the ground. That's plenty for loading and unloading off your trailer.
Another trick feature Vandal hopes becomes popular is a cloud-based telemetry system baked into every car. This allows for real-time monitoring of vehicle data by folks in pit lane while you're out on track. Yep, this car is for those who are mighty serious about their track days.
For now, we have real pictures of the chassis, but all the bodywork you see here is a rendering on Vandal's part. People are allowed to pre-order the car with a $1,000 deposit for deliveries sometime in 2019. To actually buy it, Vandal has a base price set of $119,700. Going for the upgraded powertrain will add unspecified thousands on top of that. Comparing it to the competition out there, the price isn't that terrible. It's definitely on the higher side of all these cars, but Vandal is also promising higher performance levels. Appearances are subjective, but this bodywork is a lot more attractive and complete to our eye than any Ariel or BAC track car. The proof will be in the lap times, though.
Related video:
There's one big thing that differentiates Vandal from the others we mentioned before. It's an American company. Most of these purpose-built track cars come out of the UK or elsewhere in Europe, but this one was engineered right here in metro Detroit. Final assembly also takes place in the Southeast Michigan area. Vandal has been running around on the M1 Concourse, right off Woodward Avenue, as its official test track. Now that the company has emerged from secrecy with a car, we can tell you what they've been testing.
It starts with a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis, along with all carbon fiber body panels. This allows for a curb weight of only 1,224 pounds — ridiculously light for the powertrain we're going to tell you about next. Two different power outputs are going to be offered, but both will use the new Civic Type R engine. In base spec, Vandal turns up the wick a bit for 340 horsepower from the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (it's 306 horsepower stock). Then, there will be an upgrade package that brings the power up to a whopping 560 horses. This version of the Type R's engine is beefed up everywhere to withstand the extra power and is said to rev to 9,000 rpm. Now that's the old high-rpm Honda we know and love, only with much more horsepower. All this power is sent through a six-speed sequential gearbox made by Sadev.
The suspension is pushrod front and rear, using JRi adjustable dampers and sway bars, along with spring rate customizability. In race mode, the One sits a mere two inches from the road, but it can be adjusted through hydraulics all the way up to five inches off the ground. That's plenty for loading and unloading off your trailer.
Another trick feature Vandal hopes becomes popular is a cloud-based telemetry system baked into every car. This allows for real-time monitoring of vehicle data by folks in pit lane while you're out on track. Yep, this car is for those who are mighty serious about their track days.
For now, we have real pictures of the chassis, but all the bodywork you see here is a rendering on Vandal's part. People are allowed to pre-order the car with a $1,000 deposit for deliveries sometime in 2019. To actually buy it, Vandal has a base price set of $119,700. Going for the upgraded powertrain will add unspecified thousands on top of that. Comparing it to the competition out there, the price isn't that terrible. It's definitely on the higher side of all these cars, but Vandal is also promising higher performance levels. Appearances are subjective, but this bodywork is a lot more attractive and complete to our eye than any Ariel or BAC track car. The proof will be in the lap times, though.
Related video:
Featured Gallery Vandal One
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