It’s possible that Radical Motorsport is the most hardcore automaker in the world. It builds little lightweight machines that are exclusively for the act of going fast around a race track, and a lot of really cool people bought one just for that purpose. While the rest of the British automotive industry is trying to figure out how to exist in the modern landscape, Radical has pretty much continued its formula unchanged since the company launched 28 years ago. It was good back then and it’s still good now, why change it? The company has moved an impressive 3,000 units since 1997.
“Reaching the 3,000th car milestone is a testament to the dedication and talent of our team,” said Dan Redpath, chief commercial officer of Radical Motorsport. “It’s a proud moment not only for Radical but also for our customers and fans who have supported us through this incredible journey. Our success demonstrates that by focusing on what we do best – delivering world-class race cars and unrivalled customer experiences – we can thrive even in challenging times.”
Radical is, obviously, a niche automaker. It doesn’t have to really worry about road regulations, just speed. The company now makes four different vehicles powered by wildly different powertrains, ranging from a Suzuki Hayabusa-based 1.3-liter zinger to an all-conquering 720-horsepower Ford Ecoboost V6. How fast you want to go depends how much you want to spend. A basic SR1 XXR will run you about $70,000 depending on options, while the fastest RXC coupe is a couple hundred grand. With a limited menu and quality components is Radical the In-n-Out of motorsport?
These cars are capable of making a newbie look like a superhero on track, weighing as little as 1100 pounds ready to rip. Even the most basic Radical is capable of GT3-level speeds on most race tracks, relying on lightweight and downforce to make it happen. However fast you are, the Radical is faster. It’ll take some work to extract the most from one of these machines.
With 3,000 units sold, Radical is still a super tiny company, but the racing grids are growing around the world, and the Radical Cup is a support series for IndyCar here in the U.S. so that’s pretty cool. Radical, even?