The client came into an unexpected windfall on the stockmarket and contacted Drysdale Motorcycle Co. with the initial request to design and build a 2.0 litre V8 for his Lotus Elise.  This project is on the backburner as he decided an open wheeler was more important.  The Drysdale-Honda was inspired by the British built "Radical" - though the client wanted something a little more radical. 

The concept was to make a superlight but high powered racecar that could be driven by anyone.  Using a motorcycle powerplant was an obvious choice as these embody the most advanced engineering this side of an F1 engine but are relatively cheap and plentiful.  The car was required to have push-rod suspension and the classic early Formula One tubular chassis construction.  It was also required to seat people of generous proportions- as the idea is to build a fleet of these little racers and use them in corporate track days and possibly an Australian series eventually.

It is hoped we can set up a team for enthusiasts who don't have room to store or work on a race car (or the trailer)- typically inner city dwellers who would like a real racecar.  The intention is for Drysdale-Honda to transport the car to meetings, store the car between races (either competition hillclimbs or track days) and even keep the car maintained if the owner wishes.  Alternatively any one of these services may be offered seperately.

To allow for any size or shape of driver the whole pedal box slides through 300mm to accomadate any driver comfortably, eliminating the seat inserts used in most race cars.  The client was initially keen on basing his open wheeler on a Formula Ford rolling chassis with a motorcycle engine fitted - but when he tried one out for size it took him 15 minutes to get back out !  They are just too cramped for the average driver to jump in and drive.  The Drysdale-Honda has no protrusions to heed entry or exit unlike many open wheelers which require you to thread your feet around steering racks, batteries and suspension components etc to just get in, let alone out- which is sometimes far more urgent!.

 This client was once a very competitive motocross rider and he wanted a car that would give him the same sensation as a big bore MX bike : "I want it to pull the front wheels off the ground when I put the boot into it."   With the standard CBR1100XX Blackbird motor this is not quite achieved- but it comes close! 

The car was designed and built in 8 months of part-time work.