Cyclekarts
Modern vehicles are increasingly sophisticated, with digital engine and suspension controls and ever more complex mechanical systems. This has given us a world where the humblest entry-level Hyundai hatchback boasts a level of efficiency, reliability, and safety that was once unimaginable in even the most prestigious high-dollar luxury battleship. This is, of course, a good thing--but as we've sometimes lamented here at Car Lust, all of this sophistication also means that there's not as much of a place for the do-it-yourself mechanic as there once was.
The same is true of motorsports. These days, racing is something it usually takes serious dollars to get into. NASCAR "stock car" racing, once the home of self-taught "good ol' boys" who race-prepared Hudson flathead straight sixes by the seat of their pants in corner garages, no longer has much (if anything) to do with "stock" cars--that is, cars you can actually buy at your local dealer and drive on the street. Today's NASCARs are purpose-built racing vehicles costing millions to design and build. Indy cars, F1, endurance racing--these are even less accessable to the non-professional. There's little room these days for the hot rod assembled from junkyard components, the dirt track racer built in someone's garage--hell, even Soap Box Derby cars have been commodified and standardized and come in easy-to-assemble kit form!
So what's left for the backyard automaker? Is there still such a thing as entry-level motorsports for people who design and build their own iron and don't have a degree in mechanical engineering or corporate sponsors writing checks for them? Is there a class of competition cars that can be built by motivated amateur craftsmen of average skill using ordinary materials, hand tools, and kitchen utensils found in the typical American home?
I'm happy to say that there is still such a thing, if you know where to look for it. One example is the sport of cyclekart racing.
This RS200 is an under-the-radar supercar, with 0-60 times of 3.0 seconds and roughly 600 horsepower coursing through its futuristic-for-the-1980s rally AWD system. We've talked about the Group B rally championship before, and while the on-track competition was incredible, I almost prefer the fire-breathing street vehicles that resulted. The RS200 was at the absolute apex of that group--faster than the 
Considerably less exotic but still highly lustworthy is this basically brand new Ford Mustang SVO. Anthony Cagle recently wrote a great piece on the SVO that I recommend checking out, but essentially this was the Mustang Pony car turned into a European-style sports coupe. The key was suspension work and a the same turbo 4-cylinder that powered the Merkur XR4Ti.
