July 2003

'Which Kit?' magazine 'Track Test'

If you're going to play around at this track day lark, you may as well have a single-seater that's not road legal, right?

That's the logic behind the t5 Mission - Adam Wilkins has the details……..

The man behind t5 Developments, Tom Sadler, has always been a fan of Group C race cars. For 15 years he harbored the dream of building a motorcycle powered car inspired by the Le Mans racers, with the intention of taking it to the classic 24-hour event. Realising there was nothing on the market that fitted the bill, about four years ago he began work on a car of his own design. A few prototype chassis later, the Mission made its debut. As it turned out, when the t5 hit the kit car show circuit in 2002 it entered a scene burgeoning with similar models.

But Tom doesn't mind - if anything, it proves that his concept wasn't too off the wall. He's a nice bloke - very modest about his achievement and always happy to remind you that he's a plumber by trade and not a sports car designer. To him, the Mission is a hobby - albeit one that is taken very seriously; the end result shows that he knows what he's doing. You'd be happy to buy a kit from him.

The mission was always going to be a cheap but purposeful track day car - something to compete with the Lotus Seven-inspired roadster and clubman sports cars money-wise but be totally dedicated to the world of tyre-walled Armco, mirror smooth tarmac and red and white kerb stones. Figuring that people would be fed-up driving to and from track days, the Mission wouldn't be road legal and would have a seat for only one driver. In retrospect, Tom has discovered that enthusiasts do want provision for occasional road use at the very least and a second seat to scare/impress passengers, so an additional model is on the way soon. But in the meantime, the firm has a unique offering in the kit car world.

Power for the car we drove was courtesy of a Honda Blackbird engine. While this car was being built, it was the most powerful 'bike engine on the market. Today the Suzuki Hayabusa engine takes that mantle, but the Honda unit still muddles along with 162bhp, so its not lacking in the power stakes. To keep costs down, the engine is standard barring a modified sump and up rated clutch.

Transversely mounted, the Blackbird unit drives the six-speed sequential gearbox through a substantial chain, which in turn is linked to a Quaife torque-biasing differential. It's a purposeful arrangement.

Front and rear suspension assemblies comprise double wishbones with in board Gaz coil-overs with push-rods and bell cranks. Uprights front and rear are fabricated specially for the Mission. The demonstrator features cheap-but-effective Revolution four-spoke alloys which measure 8x13" at the front and 10x13" at the back. The demonstrator employs 225-section Kumho Ecsta tyres, although second-hand slicks are a ttempting alternative for the track-only machine. Predictably, steering is a rack and pinion set-up, using a responsive Escort Mk2 quick rack.

The spaceframe chassis is made mainly from 1" 18swg round-tube steel and features an integral roll-over bar behind the driver's head. Looking closely at the frame, its obvious that pride is taken in the work, with neat welds the order of the day. Bodywork is limited to three major sections, all of which are gel-coat GRP. The front and rear clamshell can be removed in seconds, allowing unparalleled access to the engine, transmission and suspension. There are no panel gaps in the traditional sense to worry about, but the joins between the three major sections are spot-on. Chunky over-centre catches keep the clamshell units in place.

The spoiler on the test car was an experimental second-hand item which will be replaced with a lighter unit some time soon - the team simply wanted to see what effect a rear wing would have on the aerodynamics of an already-efficient silhouette. The all-up weight of the Mission is a mere 480kg, which equates to 299bhp per tonne. Distribution of those 480kg should be good in theory, since the engine, gearbox and driver (the three major contributors to mass) are near the middle of the 100" wheelbase.

But I'm not stood in the paddock of the corner some Llandow circuit between Swansea and Cardiff to talk specification - I'm here to give the t5 a thrash in its natural environment. The anticipation begins to build the moment I arrive - today is a track day run by the Bike Engined Car Club and the paddock is filled with all kinds of high-revving machinery.

It's not long before I've donned a crash helmet and a borrowed race suit and am instructed to 'have a play' - but this is one hell of a toy. Everything about the t5 focuses your mind on the serious business of performance driving. Even getting in the thing is an event - you step over a large side pod, support your weight on the cockpit sides and drop into an untrimmed GRP seat. Its adjustable of sorts - two pillows stuffed down the back if you're short, one if you're average height and none if you're tall. Four-point harness tightened and I'm sat there waiting for my session to begin.

Mouth drying, I have time to contemplate a few things. The main thing on my mind is the fact that this is my first ever on-track experience from the drivers seat and only the second 'bike engined car I've driven. And the next session is designated 'fast'. Oh…..My….God!

The driving position is fantastic. Your legs reach out to three well-placed pedals, while a tiny 250mm steering wheel is your connection to what's going on at the front. No more than one hand span away is a tall, thin gearlever that's ideal for snicking the six-speed gearbox up and down its ratios. You sit low in the cockpit, your shoulders shrouded by the sides of the bodywork. The low front end disappears out of sight but, thankfully, the rear-view mirrors are about the best I've come across on any kit car - that'll be handy later when I'm sharing the circuit with a pack of keenly driven bike-engined cars.

Ahead of me are three dials telling all you need to know on track; a prominent rev counter in the middle franked by oil pressure and water temperature gauges. There's no speedo, no fuel gauge, no nonsense. Two warning lights indicate oil pressure and neutral. Further to the left, there are four toggle switches - reading left to right they control main power, engine running, the fuel pump and over-ride the fan. And there's the starter button.

Then the light goes green and its time to give that button a prod. With no flywheel weight to overcome, the Blackbird motor spins into life in an instant. The whole car comes alive to the sound of four eager cylinders ticking over just behind me. Amazingly, the Mission can trickle away from just 2000rpm and I'm pleased to leave the paddock without stalling - that's one hurdle cleared!

My first few laps are very tentative. Although the t5 is thoroughly warmed through after a few track sessions before I arrived, everything I've ever read about track days tells you to take it easy at first and build the speed over time, and I take heed of the advice. I was the first out on track but, after just a couple of laps, a bunch of other cars had built up behind me. I let them pass and keep about half a lap behind them.

With space around me, I begin to explore the Missions performance envelope a bit and, just when I've learnt the track and got into a rhythm, my session is cut short when the t5's 2.5-gallon petrol tank runs dry. Maybe a fuel gauge might have been handy after all! To be honest, I'm not worried as it gives me a chance to contemplate what I've learnt and put it into practice next time out.

This time, I'm immediately on the pace of some of the other cars on the track and get into sewing together seamless laps straight away. This is more like it - the t5 is an absolute riot!

The acceleration is just phenomenal - bury the throttle out of any bend and the Missions rear wheels bite into the tarmac with ferocious efficiency. Gearchanges are split-second affairs making accelleration up to three figures one relentless surge of energy. The Blackbirds peak power of 162bhp arrives at 10,500rmp, and I got within 1000 of that in 5th on the longest straight. It's a real buzz at that level - a combination of sound and energy that totally intoxicating, Llandows straights are devoured so quickly that almost straight away you're on the way back down the gears to attack another bend.

Clutchless downchanges are slightly more difficult to make smooth, the t5's rear end squirming once or twice on my messier efforts - but when they go well the satisfaction is immense. You also have to lean hard on the brakes (using engine braking on a bike powered car seems unfairly harsh somehow) and the stopping power is just as impressive as the acceleration - big 247mm discs up front taking care of most of the effort. The t5 team made excuses for the brakes being spongy oweing to cheap brake fluid, but this driver prefers a middle stump with a bit of travel, so I didn't mind. In fact, all the pedals are light, user-friendly and feelsome - no complaints from me.

And then you arrive at the bends and the real fun starts. Thanks in part to that small steering wheel; the steering is fairly weighty but oh-so-direct. A deft flick of the wrists means you almost merely think your way to the apex. The level of grip on offer from the 225-section tyres is just as awe-inspiring as the straight-line traction. Its almost as if you can pick any speed you like for a given corner, add 10 per cent and the Mission shrugs it off. Never once did the tyres complain or the chassis feel as though you asked too much of it. I reckon you could spend a year exercising the t5 on all kinds of tracks without getting bored - the enjoyment escalates lap on lap.

I could stay out all day (or at least until I run out of fuel again!) But instead opt to do a cooling down lap before returning to the pits to contemplate what I've learnt about the t5. I think what it's done is simultaneously contradicted and proven my initial feelings about the car. Let me explain………

With its racecar shape, track-only status and spoiler, I saw the Mission as a tool for die-hard enthusiasts dedicated to the ultimate on-track performance. Yet I, as a total track rookie, managed to extend it to my own limits and have one of my most enjoyable drives ever. So it's a car beginners can revel in.

But, at the same time, t5's much more experienced test driver, Gary Davies, can also jump in it and have an absolute ball, so its also a car for drivers who take to the track as second nature. You're also going to be semi-serious about track days to buy a track only car. Whatever, I guarantee that if you like driving, the Mission will feel as though it was designed for your - its fast, fun, affordable and just does what it sets out to.

So why buy the Mission? Tom Sadler sees it as natural progression from your more typical front-engined 'bike powered car. He's making no big claims that you'll be lapping as quickly as £30,000 Radicals, but you will be lapping as quickly as you would bin a well sorted Lotus Seven-inspired roadster, for instance - and for about the same money. OK, you'll need to buy a trailer until the road-legal two-seater arrives, but you'll save money on road tax, SVA and so on.

Currently, t5 Developments only offers bodies and chassis. The former is priced at *£1295 plus VAT shile the latter weighs in at *£1095 plus VAT. Until production is in full swing and the company can make bulk purchases, Tom reckons individual builders will be better off striking their own deals on the other components, such as spring and damper units, dials and so on. The estimate for a budget build hovers around the *£6,000 mark, while a more typical spend might be *£8,000. Alternatively, Honda Fireblade powered turnkey cars are offered at *£10,500. So its not the cheapest 'bike engined track day car, but its not prohibitively expensive either. And the unique experience it offers, that of a genuine race car, is a major selling point.

At the moment, the company has three firm orders and another six people are deciding whether to take the plunge. With a two-seater added to the range, the company could become a force to be reckoned with. That said, Tom, the plumber from Essex, has no aspirations to become a massive operation. He's just enjoying what he does and that, more often than not, means his customers will too.

Article reproduced with the kind permission of 'Which Kit?' Magazine @ http://www.which-kit.com