Chevron GR8 Racer in the Making

Chevron Racing Cars is currently hard at work to develop what they call a Ferrari-like, yet cheaper racing car, to be used in a 2010 V8 GT series. The car is expected to cost some £49,500 plus VAT (although a price under 40k is still possible) and will pack a 2.0l Cosworth engine (with the possibility of a US sourced one as well), that will develop 255 bhp.

"The new GR8 is intended as a credit-crunch racer," Ed Burrows, Chevron spokesman told PistonHeads. "It will have the performance of a Ferrari or Porsche track car, but with only a fraction of the running costs."

The GR8, which will be an evolution of the previous Chevron B8, mostly thanks to the "ruggedness of the basic B8 platform," as Helen Bashford-Malkie, Chevron Racing Cars director said in a release.

“The structural design and component specs of the GR8 will be commensurate with the increase in power, and will be true to Chevron’s defining qualities of balance, handling and dependability."

“Elements of the design will echo the B8’s 3-litre Repco-Brabham V8 F1 engined long-tail B12 Le Mans derivative. That said, we are not planning a retro racer. The GR8 will blend classic lines with the dynamics expected of a competition car engineered today.”

The new GR8 will be used in the GR8 Challenge, planned to some in the form of teams of two drivers racing two sprint races at each event. The first race will be for drivers above 28 years of age, while the second for those in between 17 and 27.

“We envisage a scenario of juniors and seniors sharing the excitement of competing in what will be a fabulous car,” Bashford-Malkie explained.