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Radical Sportscars

Logo: Logo obtained from Radical Sportscars, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

British car manufacturer

Radical Motorsport Limited, also known as Radical Sportscars, is a British manufacturer and constructor of racing cars. The company was founded in January 1997 by amateur drivers and engineers Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott, who built open-cockpit sportscars that could be registered for road use and run on a track without modification. Radical produces a mix of purpose-built race cars as well as road-legal sports cars in varying specifications.2 It employed 140 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1997Founded1

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2017-03-07 Geneva Motor Show 0867
Photo: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland ( User:Noebu ), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Radical Motorsport Limited, also known as Radical Sportscars, is a British manufacturer and constructor of racing cars. The company was founded in January 1997 by amateur drivers and engineers Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott, who built open-cockpit sportscars that could be registered for road use and run on a track without modification. Radical produces a mix of purpose-built race cars as well as road-legal sports cars in varying specifications. Their most popular car is the Radical SR3.2

The story

The company's first car, built by Phil Abbott in 1996, the Radical 1100 Clubsport, was based on a Kawasaki motorcycle engine placed inside a small open-cockpit chassis. The cars were intended to run in the 750 Motor Club's races under the Sports 2000 category, with founders Abbott and Hyde driving.

In 1999, Radical had built enough 1100 Clubsports that they decided to create a one-make series based around the car. Backed by the British Racing and Sports Car Club, the series featured identical cars that were open to anyone who owned an 1100 Clubsport. The same year, Radical debuted their second model, the Prosport. Available with Kawasaki or Suzuki engine up to 1500 cc in displacement, the Prosports were even more powerful and faster than the Clubsports, and included F3-size slick tyres and an adjustable rear wing. The cars were also brought to the United States for the first time, for use in the SCCA D-Sport class in 2000.

Launched in 2001, Radical's next creation was the two-seater SR3, a car which could compete in international racing, such as the FIA's C3 class. The car uses a Suzuki-based engine tuned by Powertec (now RPE) which offered 1300 cc or 1500 cc versions and a maximum of 260 hp (190 kW) in the latter. An enclosed gear drive unit was developed specifically for the car to replace the traditional motorcycle engine chain drive.

In 2006, Radical would make its largest leap into international motorsport with the development of the SR9, a complete Le Mans Prototype in the LMP2 class. Official partner Rollcentre Racing would debut the car with success in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans, and SR9s in the hands of independent teams would contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans a further four times.

Greaves Motorsport | Team Bruichladdich also raced at Le Mans in 2007/8/9. Company owner Tim Greaves raced the AER powered SR9 2007 and 2008. DNFs due to crashes

From Wikipedia’s article on Radical Sportscars, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • sports car

Listed on Wikidata.1

The Radical model range has seven different models in various options, most notably in the powerplants, are available on all of the cars.

SR1

The SR1 is the first Radical to have its own racing series – The SR1 Cup – a club, owner-driven racing series that combines competition with training. The SR1 is priced at £44,500 + VAT. It is powered by a 182 horsepower RPE-Suzuki four-cylinder engine capable of propelling the car from 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds and eventually to a top speed of 138 mph (222 km/h). It is capable of 2.3 g of lateral acceleration.

SR3

The SR3 is the most popular Radical model, with over 1,000 units built. Although some subtle styling changes have taken place, the fundamental car has not changed since its conception. The car is built on a carbon-steel spaceframe chassis with polyester bodywork, and is powered by a hand built RPE racing spec 4-cylinder engine for power which produces 225 hp (168 kW) at the wheels. This allows it to accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 147 mph (237 km/h).

SR4

The SR4 was intended as the smaller sibling of the SR3, however it sold extremely poorly. The 1200 will do 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds, the quarter mile in 12.4 seconds, and has a top speed of 234 km/h (145 mph).

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SR8

Based on the SR3, the SR8 is a more extreme version intended for track use, but can be registered for the road. The SR8 also features one of the largest engines Radical has ever put in their cars, with the 2700 cc RPE RPX V8 constructed by combining elements of Suzuki inline-4s, and producing 430 hp (321 kW). A further variant, known as the SR8LM, increased the engine size to 2800 cc and brought power output to 455 hp (339 kW). In August 2009, Michael Vergers, driving an SR8LM, set the new lap record (6 minutes, 48 seconds) for a road legal production car at the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. This record was beaten by the 991 generation Porsche 911 GT2 in September 2017 with a time of 6:47.25.

It is capable of 0–60 mph in 2.7 seconds, a top speed of 178 mph (286 km/h), and 2.5 g's of lateral acceleration.

One SR8 was converted into an electric car by a team of students Racing Green Endurance from Imperial College London to drive the full length of the Pan-American Highway in May, 2010. The project aims to challenge commonly held perceptions surrounding electric vehicles performance and range.

The TMG EV P001 is a road-legal electric sports car by Toyota Motorsport GmbH, based on a modified Radical SR8 chassis.

SR10

Also based on the SR3, the SR10 features a Ford EcoBoost 2.3L, 4 cylinder, turbocharged engine which brings durability and longer service intervals to a similar platform to the SR8. The motor produces 425 hp (317 kW) and 380 lb⋅ft (515 N⋅m) of torque, which propels the SR10 and from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 2.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h). The SR10 continues to use the proven steel space-frame Chassis and Polyester bodywork.

RXC

The RXC is a midrange track car between the SR3 and SR8. It is street legal in most countries. It is currently the only closed-top Radical track car level. It is propelled by a Ford Cyclone 3.7 Ti-VCT V6 producing 380 hp (283 kW) and 320 lb⋅ft (434 N⋅m) of torque. The base version is capable of 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 175 mph (282 km/h). At its top speed, the RXC produces 900 kg of downforce, equaling its curb weight. A turbocharged version is also available, called the RXC Turbo 500. It produces 530 hp (395 kW) and 481 lb⋅ft (652 N⋅m) of torque. Top speed is estimated to be 185 mph (298 km/h), with 0-60 mph acceleration estimated at 2.4 seconds. Production of the RXC began in late 2013 at £111,689.

The RXC Spyder is the open top variant of the RXC V8. The standard engine is an RPE 3000 cc V8 producing 440 hp (328 kW) and the engines maximum power is achieved at 10,500 rpm. The car is built with a seven-speed sequential transmission with paddle shifters fitted as standard, and the car features aerodynamics and styling cues taken from the SR9 LMP2 project. It has a carbon-steel spaceframe based on those of the RXC V8 and the SR9 LMP2. Later updated to the Ford Ecoboost twin turbo V6 engine with 654 hp (488 kW), and a Quaife 6 speed sequential gearbox, it is capable of 0–60 mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 178 mph (286 km/h).

The RXC V8 is a track day car that is also used in top tier motorsport. It is powered by the same 3-liter V8 as the RXC Spyder.

From Wikipedia’s article on Radical Sportscars, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1997Founded Founded1

Sources

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