Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus 004S: development ramps up for three-seat supercar
As the SCG 004 racer gears up for another Nürburgring 24 Hours, development is well underway for its road-legal relative
A fascinating first drive of an early 004S prototype left us wanting more, and two years on, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus is finally nearing full-scale production with its race-derived road car. While the project has seen numerous delays since its 2017 announcement, development is now entering its final stages before first customers are handed the keys. Details on UK availability are yet to be confirmed, but prices are expected to start from around £350,000.
As the New York-based firm gears up for another Nürburgring 24 Hours assault in its 004 racer, it’s taken to social media to document development updates for the road-going 004S. The track-inspired model will be built at the brand’s Danbury facility in Connecticut, USA once it’s signed off, which is now a not-so distant milestone.
SCG confirmed that the 004S has now passed crash testing, with a simulated 100,000 road miles, high and low temperature real world tests and high speed testing all having been completed. Minor changes have been implemented along the way, with a complete teardown soon to come, allowing SCG to make final adjustments and set service recommendations for owners.
The firm also offered some insight into the most difficult aspect of the 004S’s development, and why the model has taken so much longer to bring to fruition than anticipated: ‘One of the most massive changes we made and the one that took so much additional time and money was stretching the car 4 inches to enable the passenger seats to become rear seats and move us from "Fast Act" to fully compliant crash testable road legal cars. This change cost us millions of dollars and several years.’ As a result, the three-abreast arrangement puts the two passengers behind the driver in a similar fashion to the McLaren F1. Elsewhere, the instruments and controls are mostly analogue, with traditional dials and switches in place of modern displays.
Much like its track-only 004CS sibling, a 5-litre supercharged V8 sits at the heart of the 004S, sending 646bhp to the rear wheels through a six-speed open-gate manual from Graziano. Our drive in a prototype confirms that it’s just as quick as its power output would suggest, with the SCG completing the 0-62mph sprint in c3.0sec before reaching a 190mph top speed. With a design inspired by the brand’s track-only machines, carbonfibre is used extensively for the chassis and body, helping it achieve a low 1480kg kerb weight for a power-to-weight ratio of 443bhp/ton.
The 004S succeeds the $2m (c£1.5m) 003S, and SCG is hoping that the lower c£350,000 price tag will invite more buyers into its central seat, and away from traditional supercar offerings from Maranello and Woking. Though the marque is hoping for the model to be legal in 49 US states, there’s currently no word on UK availability.
