2023-09-24 20:13:00
A Rocket has just been sold. This unusual car is a mix between 60’s F1 design and a 90’s supercar.
On September 20, the company Bring a Trailer a conclu an auction of an extremely rare car for no less than 250,000 euros. The vehicle sold is the Light Car Company Rocket, a model developed in the early 1990s by the Light Car Company. This British car manufacturer, which disappeared in 1998, was founded by Gordon Murray, a famous F1 car designer, and Chris Craft, a racing driver.
The Rocket is the one and only car to ever leave the Light Car Company’s factories. It was, moreover, only produced to the extent of a fifty copies, which makes it a particularly rare model. But, above all, it is unlike any other car in the history of the automobile. Its particular design deliberately recalls the F1 cars of the 1960s. Except that the Rocket was designed for the road.
The Rocket, an unusual mix between a 60’s F1 car and a road car
The Rocket has the particularity of being particularly light. It only weighs 385 kg, which is a far cry from the usual weight of cars, which often exceeds a ton. It was developed in part by Gordon Murray, who was the chief designer behind the McLaren F1 in the 1990s. He remained at McLaren until 2004, having proven himself as a F1 vehicle designer.
Gordon Murray and Chris Craft have clearly transferred all their passion for racing into this surprising car that is the Rocket. Their goal was to build a light and minimalist sporty. However, it was not a question of creating a competition model, but a vehicle designed for the road which would give the sensation of driving an F1 car from the 60’s. This objective explains the very particular mix between F1 and the road car which characterizes the Rocket.
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In terms of design, the Rocket has been reduced to the essentials. It has a tubular steel chassis and an open cockpit, without doors. Drivers and passengers must then step over the bodywork to enter. In this respect, the Rocket looks a lot like a classic single-posto racing car. In terms of performance, it is equipped with a 1 liter four-cylinder motorcycle engine. Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP.
Certainly, this engine only develops 143 to 165 horsepower, far from an F1. However, the Rocket is very light. The weight/power ratio is particularly high and the speed of this car is comparable to the supercars of the time. Given the rarity of this model, the few existing examples are held by a handful of collectors. The Rocket is particularly sought after, hence the astronomical price at which the model auctioned via Bring a Trailer was sold on September 20.
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