The Saker RapX

2012 is a big year for VUDU because we will be buying and transforming a Saker into an awesome vehicle. Don’t get us wrong, the Saker is already spectacular. Like the bird of prey that it is named after, it is swift and very manoeuvrable and is designed for outright performance. What’s more, it’s a beautiful looking car. The manufacturers have a slogan for it: more adrenaline than you can handle. But they ain’t seen nothing yet. There are a number of reasons why the Saker is the perfect racecar for us. It’s lightweight and has a minimum frontal area and drag; it has the capacity for high downforce; it has a low centre of gravity and its main weight mass is in a central position, and it has endurance race capabilities. It also has a Subaru engine. A 2.0 litre Flat 4 Turbo to be precise. This is of particular interest because we have a wealth of experience working with Subaru engines and this is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate just how far VUDU can push it. Sakers have a limited horsepower of 270bhp. We’ll be upping that to the 4-500bhp mark with a series of upgrades, including:

• Turbo: Fitting a customised hybrid Borg Warner EFR Turbo, the manufacturer’s first ball bearing model.
• Internal work: Forging the engine with bespoke internals designed to VUDU specifications.
• Tuning: Installing a MoTeC M800 ECU and using the Dynapack so that we can map it under controlled conditions.
• Collaboration: We will also be working closely with our partners to upgrade the vehicle dynamics in order to achieve the optimum level.

The Saker Project is about showing off what we’re capable of at VUDU. With so much engineering expertise and talent here, seeing how far we can take a vehicle like the Saker will be beneficial for us and our customers. If all goes to plan, and we have every reason to expect it will do, we’ll have a race car that’s going to turn heads; and when it’s driving past, it’ll turn them quickly! When the project is completed we will race it at events like Brit Car, and, as it’s a two-seater, we’ll take clients out in it too. However, the underlying objective is simple: to see how fast we can make the Saker complete a circuit of the Nürburgring.