How Fast Are Kit Cars? 5 Models Compared (With Numbers) | Motor & Wheels (2024)

There are lots of considerations that kit car owners/builders make before they write that check to begin their kit car journey.

One such consideration is speed.

How Fast Are Kit Cars?

Kit cars typically have a top speed at around 110-240 mph. The top speed of your kit car depends on the type and quality of the engine.

Let’s dig into the details!

Acceleration and Top Speed For 5 Kit Car Models

Here are five examples of exactly what to expect when it comes to the performance of your kit car.

1) Ultima GTR

The vehicles that hold the World’s Fastest Supercar titles are; the old McLaren F1 and the recent Bugatti Veyron. Although so many other vehicles are fast enough to come close to earning this title, the Ultima GTR stands out significantly.

This production vehicle has all the right components and has beaten all the speed records of every book.

With a great speed of 231 mph and acceleration of 0 to 60 seconds in 2.5 seconds, the Ultima GTR qualifies as the Fastest Supercar in the World.

Thankfully, the Ultima can be built in your garage. The fact that it’s a kit car opens room for wider opportunities to modify and for the owner to build the car to preferred taste.

2) Caterham 7

The Caterham 7 is a super sports vehicle that was created with inspiration from the Lotus 7. It is a lightweight sports car by Lotus Cars sold in the United Kingdom as a factory-built kit back around the 50s to 70s. The Caterham 7 is a super upgraded sports car version and is super-lightweight.

Both the self-built and factory-built kit of the Caterham 7 are available for sale. It is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of about 110 mph.

3) Factory Five Racing-GTM

The FFR GTM runs the proven gear from the GM’s world-class Corvette and Corvette Z-06. the major components in the gear include computer engine controls, engine, fuel system, and rear and front braking/suspension.

The GTM is designed for compatibility with the GM LS series engines.

Its performance boasts of a top speed of 201 mph and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds.

Evidently, the GTM is among the fastest cars you could ever build in your garage.

4) CAV-GT40

The CAV-GT40 runs the Ford Racing 5.4 liter V8 engine. This engine has ballistic performance and produces over 400bhp.

A 0 to 60 mph acceleration occurs in just around 4 seconds, and it boasts of a top speed record of near 200 mph.

From the components, it’s clear that the CAV GT is a high-quality recreation vehicle. The chassis of the car is tig-welded, stainless steel monocoque. The manufacturers had track and fast road usage in mind when designing the suspension. Thus, making it fully adjustable.

Chopped strand fiber and Vinylester are components that make up the car’s bodyshell. The iconic shape is recreated to include the single nostril bonnet for optimum cooling efficiency.

Some other notable features of the car include; Twin fuel tanks, Harnesses, Knock off wheel centers, Air conditioning, and correct decals.

5) Porsche 917

The Porsche 917 is an insanely created automotive, with the best performance level.

This car was is highly impressive in the 70s and remains impressive until today.

The vehicle has been modified to have a performance delivery of 1,580 horsepower. This allows the car to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 3.0 seconds.

The beast boasts of over 240 mph high speed.

What Is The Fastest Kit Car You Can Build Yourself?

Fast is a relative term because we need to factor in acceleration as well as top speed.

[su_box]The engine is obviously the most important part in order to crank the most out of your kit car. Here’s an extensive guide we’ve made about engines for kit cars.[/su_box]

What qualifies as best for one may not qualify for another. To answer this question, we’ll consider cost, ease, and build time. The MEV Exocet meets all three component requirements as the best in the world.

This kit car runs a high-performing engine – the Mazda MX-5:

For about the cost of $3,700, inclusive of VAT, you can get a complete basic kit. It’s so easy to build that not much is required to turn it into a lightweight Exocet.

All you need to do is to replace the MX-5 monocoque with GRP body panels and the supplied G-Type chassis.

With a lightweight and a bullet-proof engine, this car is easily one of the world’s most accomplished sports cars. And ready for use on the road or track.

How Big An Engine Can I Put Inside A Kit Car?

The engine choice should depend on the particular vehicle.

However, an LS1 V8, BMW M3 or similar engines are some of your best options.

The LS1 V8 is cheap, reliable, simple, and has great capacity.

Lightweights are great, so just stick with them and give the Elise/Exige engines a chance. These engines feature loads of tuning options. When you go big, you sometimes have to sacrifice the fun of driving it.

Go gentle on the torque too, as too much is not advisable.

You should be wary of marketing tactics by manufacturing companies too. Because not every lightweight engine is high performing.

Are Kit Cars Built For High-speed?

High speed and lightweight is one major reason why car enthusiasts prefer kit cars. So yes, depending on the kit, what you’re building, and who’s building it, kit cars are built for speed.

Plus, kit cars are a great way to enjoy a super-fun and super-fast sports car on a low budget. Kit cars like the Ultima GTR, for example, is easily the fastest kit car around.

With a record-breaking speed of 231 mph.

4 Ways To Modify A Kit Car To Go Faster

Every car enthusiast who desires more power and efficiency from their kit car would always consider improving their car’s performance. Overall, this is in terms of speed.

Fueling engines may not give you the results you require. Instead, you should consider modifying your car’s engine to improve the engine’s air-fuel relationship.

To achieve this, here are five ways to modify your car;

1. Install a Supercharger

To produce more power, a supercharger can be used to pressurize the air intake. This way, it can be above the normal atmospheric level. Thus, allowing more air into the engine. Once combined with more fuel, it will produce more power.

The supercharger is powered mechanically through the crankshaft chain or belt. It spins at a 50,000 RPM minimum rate, which is faster than the engine itself.

This spin performance allows it to force air into the combustion chamber. Thus, creating enough space for more fuel, which causes larger combustion.

Of course, if installed correctly, your car can produce so much more energy – almost 50 percent more horsepower. If a supercharger is attached to the engine of a normal-sized car, it will immediately cause the car to behave more powerful like a much larger vehicle.

It’s not rocket science thankfully. You can install it yourself by simply bolting the supercharger to the side or top of the engine. Then, closely follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

2. Use Air Filters

Standard aftermarket air filters allow for more efficient use of the air-fuel combination, by enabling more airflow into the engine. It also works to block impurities and contaminants that slowly degrade the performance of the engine over time.

There are also secondary air filters (as some would call it). They are generally made up of multiple layers of thin mesh for catching impurities. Within these multiple thin mesh layers, are some kind of material or a thin layer of cotton.

High-quality aftermarket air filters are made of fabric, easily washable, less expensive, and reusable. Apart from enhancing performance, it is by far the easiest to install.

All you need to do is drop the air filter into the engine’s airbox.

3. Get a Cold Air Intake Kit

As little as it may seem, the air temperature can affect your kit car’s engine efficiency.

Usually, every car is designed to regulate its temperature. It does this by providing cold air to the engine when it’s warm, and warm air to the engine when it’s cold.

However, since cold air is denser than warm air, getting a cold air kit can improve the efficiency and performance of your car.

A cold air intake kit is a standard aftermarket system.

It was designed to allow cool air into the internal combustion engine. This is because cold air contains more of the necessary oxygen needed for more dynamic combustion in the engine.

4. Weight Reduction

Evidently, lightweight is faster than heavyweight – even physics agrees. To reduce the weight of the car, you may have to replace heavy parts with their light counterparts.

This does not only apply to the engine block, but also to other parts of the car.

Doing this will make the car more aerodynamic and lighter.

Options include:

• Replacing traditional brakes with disc brakes;
• getting rid of extra seats that are not in use;
• switching to lighter acrylic windows or plastic windows;
• or getting rid of some unwanted dashboard parts.

How Good Is The Gas Mileage On Kit Cars?

You can get a highway return mileage of about 25 mpg on the 535 bhp American Speed engine in kit cars. If you seek more mpg, you can use fuel injection to fine-tune the fuel delivery.

Are Kit Cars Street Legal?

Unfortunately, not all legal kit cars are street-legal. Some kit cars are meant for the race tracks only. We answered this question in-depth here. But don’t stop there. Check out our complete collection of articles on kit cars, so you get the full picture on the subject.

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