It's not often you get asked your weight and height on the invitation to a car launch, but then it's not often that a car as extreme as the Radical SR3 comes along either. Aimed squarely at the trackday crowd, this car tackles the concept from a new angle. Previous specials have been road cars honed for a quick lap at Brands but the SR3 is different because Radical started with their Prosport single-seater and worked backwards.
The true definition of a trackday car, as opposed to a racer, is that it should be possible to use it on the Queen's highway and, believe it or not, you will be able to do that with the SR3. A 'road-legal pack' is a £1500 option on the price list and includes catalytic converter, radiator fan, handbrake and horn. Ride height can be raised from 40mm to 85mm and the first example will have an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) test for roadworthiness in the next few weeks. Most of the orders Radical has taken to date include the road option, which includes jaw- slackening pose value as standard.
It's more than just an adapted racer though. Widening and lengthening the cockpit for passenger space required a re-design from the ground up, enclosing the spaceframe chassis and integral FIA-approved roll-cage in new bodywork that resembles a multi-million pound Le Mans prototype special. Just behind the unique combined carbon/kevlar seats in this 'Supersport' version is a 1500cc Powertec Suzuki engine developing a very healthy 252bhp at 9500rpm. And, since the entire car weighs just 500kg, that should be more than enough to provide a few fireworks. We joined Radical at the Catalunya circuit, just outside Barcelona, to find out.
Once secured by the six-point harness in the made-to-measure seat, flick the ignition and fuel pump toggle switches, prod the throttle and finger the starter button. The motor fires immediately and barks into life the way only a superbike engine can. Nudge the gear lever forward, release the clutch and pull away easily and smoothly.
At the end of the pit-lane with the car in third gear at about 7000rpm, I give it full beans. Wow! It's like hitting the fast-forward button on some in-car camera footage. Radical claims a 0-60mph time of three seconds and I'm not going to dispute that. The steering- wheel-mounted shift lights flicker, I grab another gear and more speed pours on, whilst the banshee scream from the engine grows ever more frenzied as the revs race towards the 10,500rpm limit.
We're closing in very rapidly on the tight, 90-degree, imaginatively named Turn One. I hit the brakes and come to an almost instant stop. Four-pot, 260mm vented discs combined with 9in-wide, hot Dunlop slicks take some beating. No trackday car I have ever driven stops like this; it's as though we've just driven into a glue spillage.
It takes time to adjust to the speed and ability of this SR3; for the first few laps you brake too early and turn in too slowly. You're still lapping very quickly in normal car terms yet without getting close to the limits. The strong feedback encourages you to work the car harder and you soon discover that despite the speed, grip, braking and cornering forces, the SR3 is driver friendly.
Racecars this quick aren't supposed to be so forgiving but, as company co-founder Mick Hyde explained later, Radical was prepared to sacrifice a little ultimate lap pace to ensure it wasn't too aggressive for trackday drivers. And the SR3 still has plenty of pace to spare. You won't find it as playful as, say, a Caterham but you will be able to catch the tail when it steps out - and much more easily than you might expect. Lairy or smooth, the SR3 can do both.
It's worth remembering, however, that this SR3 is running on slicks. We'll have to reserve judgement on how the car copes on less grippy rubber and rough, real-world roads until we've tried it in those conditions, but the chassis does seem very adaptable.
The suspension system is Radical's own patented design with double wishbones, fully floating coil-over units and double adjustable shocks. It's an impressive set-up that allows you to tune it exactly to your own taste, though I'll take it as it is, thanks.
The quality of the engineering throughout is hard to fault. These cars are immaculately prepared and, with the bodywork off, the attention to detail is immediately apparent. Radical has just built a new factory in Peterborough to make these cars and I expect it'll be busy in the coming months.
In the right hands the SR3 can lap in the same time as a current Formula 3 car, so you can be pretty sure that when the trackday season kicks off this summer these cars will be some of the fastest machines out there. And the SR3 has a passenger seat so that, unlike a formula car, you can take a mate along for the ride.
Later in the day I sat alongside Michael Vergers, Radical's test driver, and it was a physical, intense and truly awesome experience - even more so than when driving. If you want to learn about track skills this has to be one of the best means of doing it.
The Radical SR3 costs around £40,000 in this 252bhp Supersport specification, but can also be had for less with a 150bhp, 1000cc Powertec Kawasaki engine or a 205bhp, 1300cc Suzuki unit. It's not exactly cheap, and we don't know how it'll drive on the road, but at trackdays it's sure to be a pace setter.
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