Ian F
Ian F UltimaDork
9/15/14 8:49 a.m.

I never knew this little beast existed:

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/mclaren/unspecified/1683025.html?refer=blog

Pretty cool. I love the rear seat. That's funny.

Yes, I know the GRM way is to DIY build one for 1/10 the price, but I'm guessing one would be hard pressed to buy a Gordon Murray designed car for under 6 figures.

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand Dork
9/15/14 8:51 a.m.

oooooh (insert evil laugh here)

That'd be a hoot to drive to work.

bgkast
bgkast GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/15/14 12:04 p.m.

Jay Leno has one.

There used to be a Jay Leno's Garage video on the car, but NBC's revamp of the site sucks, and It looks like it's gone.

wspohn
wspohn HalfDork
9/15/14 12:06 p.m.
Hungary Bill wrote: oooooh (insert evil laugh here) That'd be a hoot to drive to work.

Yeah - right up until the lady in the Hummer beside you at the light putting her make up on in the rear view mirror and talking on a cell phone decided that she wanted to make a sudden right hand turn and did so from the left lane, not seeing you beside her.....not great traffic visibility!

Ian F
Ian F UltimaDork
9/15/14 12:49 p.m.

In reply to wspohn:

Meh... not significantly different than driving a Spitfire...

I was wondering if Leno has one. Doesn't surprise me that he does, but I never saw a video about it.

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand Dork
9/15/14 2:22 p.m.
wspohn wrote:
Hungary Bill wrote: oooooh (insert evil laugh here) That'd be a hoot to drive to work.
Yeah - right up until the lady in the Hummer beside you at the light putting her make up on in the rear view mirror and talking on a cell phone decided that she wanted to make a sudden right hand turn and did so from the left lane, not seeing you beside her.....not great traffic visibility!

Nah. I might drop my razor into my bowl of cornflakes, but she aint getting me that easy.

gearheadmb
gearheadmb New Reader
9/15/14 2:26 p.m.

It looks like the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

DWNSHFT
DWNSHFT HalfDork
9/15/14 2:31 p.m.

The Murray Rocket maxxes out the awesome-meter at 12.5!!!

mr2peak
mr2peak GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
9/15/14 4:43 p.m.

Not nearly as pretty as the old F1 cars :/

Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
9/15/14 4:49 p.m.

Looks like a Formula F

moparman76_69
moparman76_69 SuperDork
9/15/14 4:50 p.m.

In reply to gearheadmb:

You need one of these.

pjbgravely
pjbgravely Reader
9/15/14 5:28 p.m.

What!

Nobody say the Insurance Cost Calculator Estimated Monthly Payment at $1,740/ month? I guess if you can afford the car insurance isn't a problem.

Ian F
Ian F UltimaDork
9/15/14 6:29 p.m.
pjbgravely wrote: What! Nobody say the Insurance Cost Calculator Estimated Monthly Payment at $1,740/ month? I guess if you can afford the car insurance isn't a problem.

No - that's an estimated financing payment, not insurance. I made the same mistake until I dug into more. I admit it's very confusing being right under the Hagerty link, but if you look, the payment link takes you to a financing site.

pjbgravely
pjbgravely Reader
9/15/14 6:44 p.m.

In reply to Ian F: LOL I'm such a fool.

Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist New Reader
9/15/14 9:20 p.m.

I have always loved the Rocket and wonder why there aren't more tandem seat cars. I would love a modern version like this

http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/466

This with an optional canopy style enclosure ala F16. The BAC Mono is pretty impressive but it is always nice to have a second seat to share the fun and a little room to put an overnight bag or 2 bags of groceries. Tandem seat cars offer small frontal area and aero advantages. The centered driving position also is great for LHD and RHD markets. If some modern properly designed crush structure added to the sidepod area the crash-worthyness can be as good as or better than driver side impacts on normal side by side designs. The wheels at the corners and centered, low polar weight distribution all make for a capable dynamic drive.

LopRacer
LopRacer HalfDork
9/15/14 9:29 p.m.

I admit that crossed my radar a few years back when I saw it in pictures of Leno's garage. It's an interesting concept and would love it on the back roads or the track but definitely not around traffic.

MCarp22
MCarp22 HalfDork
9/15/14 9:35 p.m.

I like the period correct air/fuel meter and radar detector.

Ian F
Ian F UltimaDork
9/15/14 10:13 p.m.
LopRacer wrote: I admit that crossed my radar a few years back when I saw it in pictures of Leno's garage. It's an interesting concept and would love it on the back roads or the track but definitely not around traffic.

So you wouldn't drive a Lotus 7 in traffic either? All things considered, it's pretty much the same thing.

And seriously, I've had my Spitfire parked next to a 7. Is the 7 smaller? Yes, but not drastically so.

mr2peak
mr2peak GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
9/16/14 1:14 a.m.
Zeitgeist wrote: I have always loved the Rocket and wonder why there aren't more tandem seat cars. I would love a modern version like this http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/466 This with an optional canopy style enclosure ala F16. The BAC Mono is pretty impressive but it is always nice to have a second seat to share the fun and a little room to put an overnight bag or 2 bags of groceries. Tandem seat cars offer small frontal area and aero advantages. The centered driving position also is great for LHD and RHD markets. If some modern properly designed crush structure added to the sidepod area the crash-worthyness can be as good as or better than driver side impacts on normal side by side designs. The wheels at the corners and centered, low polar weight distribution all make for a capable dynamic drive.

That article states that it weighs 1,030lbs more than the rocket...

Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist New Reader
9/16/14 11:51 a.m.

In reply to mr2peak:Yeah I don't know how they stuffed so much weight in the design. I would prefer a lower less dune buggy like stance and smaller tire/wheel package. More power and less weight but keep the design/shape and higher beltline and rollhoops. The double full length side tubes should help with some with safety.

Rusnak_322
Rusnak_322 Dork
9/16/14 12:44 p.m.

If you want a "tandem seat", I would rather have one of these. At least they lean the correct way:

cabin motorcycles

Still ugly, but rather cool as well.

LopRacer
LopRacer HalfDork
9/16/14 8:43 p.m.
Ian F wrote:
LopRacer wrote: I admit that crossed my radar a few years back when I saw it in pictures of Leno's garage. It's an interesting concept and would love it on the back roads or the track but definitely not around traffic.
So you wouldn't drive a Lotus 7 in traffic either? All things considered, it's pretty much the same thing. And seriously, I've had my Spitfire parked next to a 7. Is the 7 smaller? Yes, but not drastically so.

I guess that all depends on what kind of traffic I was dealing with. I've never really driven anything smaller than a Miata on the street so perhaps I could get used to it.

Ian F
Ian F UltimaDork
9/16/14 9:15 p.m.

In reply to LopRacer:

In a Spitfire, I look up at Miatas. I once wondered what the weird looking SUV in my mirror was - until I realized it was a Smart.

But in reality, you get used to it. When my ex- bought her Spitfire in '05, I had to drive it to a shop that required a rush-hour drive on a hwy through a small city (Trenton, NJ). At the time, it felt like the scariest thing I'd ever done - and I've spent most of my life riding bicycles in city traffic. Now it doesn't bother me as much, but I do try to avoid it when I can. Mainly because having to be so hyper-aware of your surroundings gets exhausting.

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