This
is the third incarnation of this car, the previous generation being
black with a red hood and prior to this, flame red with no windscreen
and a hard tonneau cover. If I recall correctly it was intended to be
a weekend racer and by the time it was painted in this iridescent
green* it had a supercharged version of the 1.8 K-series engine.
* - PeteVick - looks a lot like Bittersweet to me |
Differences
from standard are many, not only are the wheels one offs, being split
rims, but also the wings were flared, there were unique side sills,
front and rear nosecones, revised air intakes and interior
modifications. Less obvious is the fact that the side sills are one
piece items and in this regard you can see some of the ideas that made
to the current TF, al be it in a slightly different form. |
This
shot was taken mainly to show the extent to which the wings were
flared. It also gives some idea of the revised air intakes and side
sill extensions, more on the sill extensions later... |
This
is a shot of the dash, note the MY2K centre console in silver and
green leather trimmed steering wheel. The wheel matches the seats... |
...The
seats are unlike any that have been fitted to the F or TF. The closest
comparison is the bucket seats used in the MGF Cup racing series, but
they are a lot more spartan. Whilst these seats look great and would
certainly do the job of locating the driver an passenger securely,
there appears to be an issue with access to the drop down bin. |
The
rear bumper. Note the centre mounted exhaust finishers (and in this
shot you can see the silencer box as well). Also note the venturi
tubes - I am not sure if these are for show or actually produced a
ground effect, but they look great in my opinion. The central 'tail' I
feel is a little impractical and would not survive reverse parking on
a day-to-day basis. |
The
side sill extensions. Of all the body kit side sills I have seen,
these I feel are the most successful on an F. They are simple tapered
'wings' and their simplicity is why they work so well stylistically.
If they were available as an aftermarket item I would have some on
Scarlet. Note also the additional badging on the front wing, hmmm I
wonder if I can get some 'Scarlet Fever' badges made up... |
A
shot of the rear wheel. The split rims on this and the 2nd generation
Supersports differ from the originals and in my opinion are less
successful - not that they are unattractive, far from it - it's just
that the original wheels were far less angular and therefore more in
keeping with the curvaceous bodywork. I am not sure if the picture
will show this up, but when I took these pictures I was a little
disappointed in their appearance, looking a little worse for wear. |
Last
picture in this gallery, I found this on my hard drive and it's a
picture of the 2nd generation of this car. Basically it is the same
vehicle as the one in the previous pictures in all ways except for the
colour and the engine. This generation of the car as I understand it
had the prototype supercharged engine installed. According to the
blurb on the windscreen of the car in it's current form, this was
replaced at some time in it's past with a stock VVC lump - I assume
for further development works. |