Exocet XP5 Revs its Monstrous Engine

Written by Paul Strauss | November 13, 2014

Exomotive offers a series of kit cars to suit a wide variety of tastes. The most intriguing of these cars has to be the Exocet, a tube-framed car they call “the easiest kit car in the world to build.” The vehicle uses donor parts from a 1990 to 2005 Mazda Miata, and can be outfitted with Mazda’s diminutive 1.6 or 1.8 liter drivetrains or a Chevy-sourced V8. In the case of this experimental prototype, dubbed “XP5”, built with the help of Tie Down Engineering, the car has been fitted with a 525 horsepower Chevy LS3 V8 – a small block engine often used in race cars. Even with the engine in place, this beast weighs in at just 1,700 pounds. That gives it a power-to-weight ratio that outguns a McLaren F1 LM. While we don’t have any footage of the vehicle in action yet, we’re happy to listen to its monster engine as it’s revved.

If you’re interested in having a car like this fabricated, you’re looking at a cost of $75,000 to $85,000(USD), while you can get into less powerful builds for as little as $25,000. Exomotive says you could find yourself in a car that’s about 80% as fast as this one for about $35,000. Not bad.

And if there’s any question about Exomotive’s claim about how quickly an Exocet can be built here’s a demonstration video of one being put together in less than four minutes:

Granted, the car shown in the assembly video isn’t the custom V8 model, but it is impressive to see a Miata transformed into a lightweight track car that quickly.

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