Description
When a top-flight racing car designer with several Formula 1 World Championship-winning designs to his credit turns his hand to a road car, one would expect something special. But when McLaren’s Gordon Murray came up with the Rocket, the result was nothing less than sensational. Its retro-styled lines reminiscent of an early 1960s Formula Junior, the mid-engined Rocket employed a then-unique tandem seating arrangement while pioneering the use of a modern high-performance motorcycle engine to achieve an exceptional power-to-weight ratio and performance to match. Indeed, with 140bhp on tap and an all-up weight of around 400kg (880lbs), the Rocket was the fastest road-going car in the world up to 100mph at the time of its launch in 1992. Acceleration times recorded by Autocar magazine still seem incredible: 0-60mph in just 5sec and 0-100 in 12. 3, while the top speed clocked was 131mph! Providing the urge was a Yamaha FZR1000 water-cooled 20-valve motorcycle engine complete with five-speed sequential gearbox coupled to a special final drive incorporating a limited-slip differential and reverse gear. The chassis was a conventional multi-tubular spaceframe utilising the engine as a stressed member supporting the rear suspension - just like in Formula 1 - while the state-of-the-art Brembo brakes provided unmatched stopping power. Expensive composite materials were utilised to keep the weight down, pushing the price of the Rocket to a hefty £38, 000 at launch, a figure that would eventually rise to £55, 000. With so little weight to cope with, the Rocket redefined the limits of sports car handling, road holding and controllability, putting even the Caterham Seven in the shade.
It is very rare that a Rocket ever comes onto the market, the Rocket shown here, chassis R024, is one of the original 30 or so road versions ever built. Constructed in 1996 for one of the founding members of The Light Car Co. and as such, it was treated to a “Blue Printed” engine with high lift cams, and a 6-speed gearbox. Having only one other owner before being purchased by current owner in 1999, R024 has been used continuously for track days and fun days out when the weather allowed. For most of its life, it has been serviced and maintained by The Light Car Company and only as recently as 2015 was treated to a full body off respray and a few mechanical upgrades as part of the owners wishes, including steering wheel paddle shift controls, a Kevlar semi race clutch and roll bar conversion. Covering only 8300 Km, this iconic piece of English motoring history is ready for the road or track, and will be fully serviced and MOT’d prior to delivery.
Please contact Chris Holley for more details.
