Radical
Radical Sportscars was established in Britain 1997 by two amateur drivers and engineers, Phil Abbott and Mick Hyde, and together with Nick Walford as designer and Ted Hurrell as engine man, Radical has gone on to become one of the largest manufacturers of purpose-built racing cars and track-day cars.
Radical Beginnings
The philosophy behind Radical Sportscars was to create a sports car that incorporated the lightweight and power of a motorbike in the chassis of a sports car. The name originated with a tanning lotion brand that was previously owned by Abbott. The idea of utilizing motorbike technology began with John Cooper in the 1950s, who employed a 500cc Japanese motorbike engine in his cars. BMW picked up the idea and their bike-powered cars became popular in Europe in the 1950s. Radical Sportscars was the first to produce a bespoke powertrain for a superbike-fueled racing car. Radical produced their two models in the 1990s, the Radical 1100 Clubsport and the Prosport.
Radical 1100 Clubsport
In 1995, when the 1100 Clubsport was still a drawing on paper, the vision was to produce only a track car that could sacrifice the radio and air conditioning in favour of lap times. Co-founders Abbott and Hyde based their first car, the single-seater Radical 1100 Clubsport, on a Kawasaki motorcycle engine inside an open-cockpit chassis of a Robinson. Abbott and Hyde cut the first tubes in January of 1997 and drove the 1100 Clubsport for the first time towards the end of March in 1997. The intention was to race the cars in the Sports 2000 category of the 750 Motor Club with co-founder Mike Hyde at the wheel.
By 1999, enough Radical 1100 Clubsport cars had been produced to manufacture a one-make series of identical cars. The series was supported by the British Racing and Sports Car Club and available to anyone in possession of a 1100 Clubsport. The next development for Radical Sportscars was to create the more powerful and faster Prosport, which featured a Suzuki or Kawaski engine with an up to 1500 cc displacement, an adjustable rear wing and F3-sized slick tires