his parts from us. He's also had a
few incidents and obviously Lotus
can't support it any longer, so we
were the obvious choice.'
Currently the Rodin FZed costs
US$650,000 and another $30,000
or $40,000 will get you enough
spares and bits and pieces and all
the pit gear and the other things
that you need to go racing. In
comparison the Ferrari Challenge
car costs about US$275,000, it
costs US$220,000 to enter for the
season, maintenance and extra bits
and pieces probably adds another
US$130,000, so it's a similar sort of
outlay, Dicker tells us.
'I've done thousands of laps in
my Ferrari Challenge car in New
Zealand and the FZed is a much
more enjoyable car to drive,' says
Dicker. 'GT cars are nice, but
this is much more of a precision
instrument. It does all the things
that a racing car should do and it
just does them a lot better. It has
quite a lot more power, but the real
difference between this and other
racecars is the precision with which
you can drive it.'
Back on track
But, of course, you still need to find
somewhere to run it. 'We're going
to race the FZed in Formula Libre
in New Zealand next year and we
are thinking about running it in the
BOSS Series in Europe if possible,
too,' Dicker says.
In a recent test Greg Murphy, the
ex-V8 Supercar driver, gave the
FZed a good shakedown and
turned in some very respectable lap
times, even though the engine was
restricted to 9000rpm. But while that
was with a seasoned professional
at the wheel the car is actually quite
easy to drive, Dicker insists, saying
it is very predictable with very few
vices. Dicker also claims that there
are no issues with the aero not
working properly if you're not flat
out. 'You can drive it at 80 or 90 per
cent of its potential and it still feels
good,' he says.
'A lot of people said we were crazy
and the whole project was a stupid
idea, but we finally crossed the line
and produced something we're really
proud of,' Dicker concludes.