Well I suppose I should comment too. I built a Napiersport 'Corse' a few years back. The reason I chose that kit was, as has already been mentioned, because of the revised chassis geometry which gave much better handling characteristics. (or would if you were a capable enough driver to know the difference). Another reason was becuase of the ease of build without the need for special fabrication skills etc. It was, as the description says much more of a 'kit cat' in that most of the parts fitted together in a fairly straightforward way. A very rewarding build.
I'm now building a Hawk which is about 80% finished having just been painted. Without getting in too deeply, the Hawk is a much more challenging car to build. More is needed in the way of fabrication and manufacture of special parts to acheive the build. If you can use spanners, a welder and have access to a small friendly engineering shop, then you shouldn't have any problems. If you don't, then you will spend more time and money sorting things.
So why am I building a Hawk this time I hear you ask? Simple. It was the first 'unfinished kit' that came up for sale when I was looking to buy. If it had been a corse, I would probably have bought that instead. I have enjoyed (sorry, I am enjoying) the build but it is more testing than the Corse.
If I'd had the funds available when I was looking this time round, I would have definitely ordered a Lister Bell. I've known Craig for a number of years and his knowledge of Stratos kits is probably unsurpassed having been involved with CAE in the past. He has designed and developed what will become the new benchmark in Stratos kits in the future (in my opinion anyway). Tha fact that nobody has driven one yet would not have put me off.
Finally, I don't think you can compare any of the available kits on price. No matter how much the kit costs, by the time you have bought, made, scrounged all the parts and have a finished car, you won't know where all the money went. When I built my Corse, it cost me £22,000 and that was buying almost everything new. I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be possible today and it wouldn't surprise me or, I suspect, many others here if the costs pass £30,000. It all depends on what you want.
I'ts well established that the Hawk is the 'faithful replica' whereas the Corse and the Lister Bell are 'evolutions' of the theme.
At the end of the day, it's your money and your choice. Do it and enjoy the experience.
Mick
www.paramountrefinishing.co.uk
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Originally Posted by catswhiskers
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