Tuesday, July 21, 2015

This Street-Legal Racecar Won Pikes Peak, Now It’s For Sale

BOLD RIDE

 
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The terms “street-legal” and “racecar” generally mix about as well as oil and water. If a car is street-legal, it makes some type of compromise. If it’s a racecar, well…it’s born to do one thing. But this is not your typical situation. 

Rather, this is a Palatov D2RS. It was campaigned by driver Jonathan Frost in the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, during which it soared up the famed Colorado summit to claim first place in the Open Class (13th overall). But here’s the kicker. This no-holds-barred class winning racecar is registered in Oregon, claimed to be emissions compliant in all 50 states, and is now offered for sale.

Imagine ripping through the neighborhood in one of these beasts.

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The seller does offer a rather humorous word of caution though, noting that only the most “hardcore” would drive this regularly on the streets. They continued, “It is inconvenient, has no luggage space, no roof, is noisy and hot.” Then again, that’s a small price to pay for simply staggering performance.

This D2RS is the razor-edged, white-knuckled cousin of the Palatov D2–an already frightening street legal kit supercar built by the Portland, Oregon firm. Underneath the racy bodywork and hulking rear wing lies a mid-engine GM 6.2-liter supercharged V8, which pumps out a claimed 660 horsepower, and channels it to the rear wheels through a six-speed Quaife sequential gearbox. As you can see from the video of Frost’s class winning run (below), the street legal Palatov can put that power down…quickly.




The powertrain comes wrapped inside a Palatov-built tubular space frame chassis and rides on a custom suspension setup, sports Wilwood six-piston brakes, and wears Hoosier tires on Enkei wheels. Total weight is a claimed 2,150 pounds in racing shape.

Interestingly, if you like the idea but don’t want to go for the full-strength hill climb racing model, Palatov also sells the D2 kit with a more road-friendly, supercar-styled body package. Either way, it’s not exactly a car for the faint of heart.

Photo Credit: Palatov/eBay
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