Very few individuals will ever get to drive anything as special as a Formula 1 car, but one enterprising Brit is doing his best to make that dream come true by building one himself. Kevin Thomas, from Brighton, is slowly but surely putting together his own Formula 1-inspired racer in his shed near Brighton, from bits he’s begged, borrowed or blagged.
A keen F1 fan, Kevin first got the idea for building his own racer when he saw an F1 car in a Renault showroom. He then sought out an F1 tub, or shell, which incorporates the driver’s survival cell and cockpit, on eBay. Unsurprisingly, the item received zero bids, so Kevin contacted the seller and made him an offer, which landed him bits from a Reynard BAR 01 and a BAR 003.
That left Kevin with the unenviable task of finding the myriad other parts he’d need to complete his car. “It quickly became clear that it was very difficult, or even impossible, to get the right parts,” he said “I have to use what I can get.” He therefore joined a community of F1 parts collectors, trawled eBay and over time came up with the beast you see in these pictures.
Getting the various parts to fit his Frankenstein car was only part of the mission. A greater challenge for Kevin has been the acquisition of new skills to put them all together, most notably learning to work with carbon fibre in order to get the sidepods from a Williams-BMW F1 car to fit the engine cover from a BAR.
His car, while far from perfect, is coming along fantastically, but it’s missing one crucial element: the 600hp V10 engine that powered the BAR his vehicle is inspired by. Barring a miracle, he’ll have to settle for something a little less bonkers. “I’ll probably go for a Formula Renault 3.5-liter engine,” Thomas says. “That will be plenty fast enough to scare the living daylights out of me.”
We’re rooting for ya, Kev.
Via: Car And Driver
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