There’s no doubt that the Ford i4 Duratec has really become a fashionable engine within the kitcar industry, despite it being a current unit, and therefore commanding a higher price than normally associated with kitcar building. However, the fact it has found such favour is indicative of how the industry has moved on in recent years, with people prepared to spend a lot more on their projects. I remember when the manufacturer’s demo car was the pinnacle of what was possible and most customer versions were a paean to their inspiration but not usually better. Nowadays though people are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to push boundaries ever further.
With the use of the Duratec has also come the boom of the mappable ignition and ECU unit, which although available prior to i4, have gone hand in hand with its use. We hear names like Omex, Emerald, Motec, Pectel, MBE and DTA bandied about regularly, and although Webcon Alpha, more famous for their Weber carb supply in the UK are rated as one of the best units available they had been a little bit usurped by some of the other names mentioned. Until now that is…
Meanwhile Tiger Racing have for many years been one of the industry’s leading lights regularly supplying 200 kits per year, via their large range of Lotus Seven-inspired kits from Avon to Z100WR. Ten models in all. One to suit all pockets and tastes although they hadn’t developed a Duratec-powered car, and Tiger MD Jim Dudley realised that he needed to address this and identified his lightweight R6 model complete with round tube spaceframe chassis for the purpose. As a diehard Ford fan, Jim had been using Weber carbs for many years and so had no hesitation in working with Martin Eva’s Webcon Alpha company to develop a bespoke ignition unit to suit his R6 Duratec offering.
The i4 comes with 145bhp in standard guise (Call our back issues dept for a copy of our Duratec buyers guide in the Winter 2004 issue of totalkitcar magazine. 01883 372 085) although in the kitcar world you ain’t registering in the ‘engine envy’ stakes if yours hasn’t got at least 190bhp. Caterham and Westfield have both produced hot rod versions packing at least 250bhp so the race is on.
The R6 has been around for five years and had hitherto been available with a Ford Zetec unit or various inline bike engine screamers in B6 guise. It shares pretty much the same chassis as the company’s twin engined Z100 model and works well. I drove a 170bhp version at Zolder a couple of years back and kept up and dispensed with various Lotus Elise and 340Rs.
The Duratec follows the same path as its brother but has some additional touches to make it stand apart as the R6 rangetopper and there’s liberal use of carbonfibre on wings, dashboard and various other parts of the interior, which look great and contrast nicely with the light blue gelcoat.
Underpinning the R6 is a 90% 1in round-tube chassis that is hugely stiff, proven during copious amounts of testing at Hertford University, while Jim and team has ditched their beloved VW Golf uprights in favour of Ford Sierra stub axles. Meanwhile the double wishbones are fabricated in-house using round tubes, Urethane bushes and Pro-Tech dampers. While developing the R6 they also took the opportunity to widen the front track by 2in and move to a de Dion rear end from IRS, and the system is located by trailing arms and topped off with a Panhard rod.
Braking components are sourced from the Sierra Cosworth all-round with cross-drilled and grooved front discs and solid rears and they look quality and anchor what is now a very powerful car extremely well. Apparently some customers have wanted to upgrade to AP Racing parts, but really you don’t need to bother as in action the R6 stops on the proverbial sixpence via a lovely feel through the (now standard) floor mounted brake pedal.
Regular readers will recall that I previously drove this car prior to it having the Webcon system developed especially for it and I was impressed then, but the transformation is a revelation. In the space of one week I’d been lucky enough to sample the much-vaunted pair of Caterham CSR 260 and Westfield Sport 2000S and they are fabulous cars both. I was therefore keen to see how Tiger’s reply measured up. Hand on heart I have to say that it competes superbly at a fraction of the price and for road use offers us mere mortals all we could ever reasonably expect to exploit in performance terms.
The engine has a lovely gruff yet smooth idle and behaves impeccably in town traffic, a positive point when you consider for road use it’s something that the car will inevitably have to deal with. The last thing you want is a ‘tippy-toes’ tantrum thrower. I find a stretch of open Fen A-road and start to explore - within reason - the R6s abilities and have to say I marvel at the performance on tap. If that Caterham CSR had 260bhp by comparison to the Tiger’s claimed 204bhp then either Caterham were wrong or the R6 has 304, because the power delivery is smooth, with a raucous edge, and the way the Tiger accelerates is linear and I never get anywhere near its limits.
The new suspension set-up has really sharpened the cornering and roadholding departments while the ride is extremely compliant and not in the least bit harsh like the hardcore rivals. The R6 tackles corners without bodyroll and inspires confidence and I love the latest R888 rubber from Toyo, which is grippy and works exceptionally well.
I also like the driving position, and the trendy unpadded GRP seats offer real support – and unlike the Caterham £1250 Tillet carbonfibre items – come as part of the Tiger kit package. I mentioned earlier the floor mounted pedals, which I really like as they seem to have a better operation than conventional pendulum type and seem to give higher levels of feedback. I also spoke about the brakes earlier and on one occasion I had to put them to their test as I entered an off-camber blind bend to find a car double-parked in my path. A big stab of the pedal pulls the car up instantly and without locking of wheels. Nice.
It’s the engine though that really makes the whole package and basically it’s a Power Torque (one of just three official UK Ford Power Products suppliers) sourced item to which Webcon have tailored one of their Gold kits. This is a comprehensive throttle body with fuel injection and ignition set-up. If purchased for your own kit build other than a Tiger it will set you back £1938.75 inc VAT but is a beautiful device that will transform any Duratec (Any model multi-valve for that matter) and you get pre-mapped PR04 ECU, 45mm throttle bodies, engine loom, cat and coil. When installed it completely takes over the ignition and fuelling systems of the engine. Power is transformed from 145bhp to a heady 204bhp with peak power now arriving at 6700 rather than 6000rpm and torque increased to 181lb/ft at 5200 rather than 142 at 4500rpm.
When matched to the Duratec it makes the engine bay on the R6 look fantastic and the installation is a triumph of skill jointly carried out by Tiger and Webcon. Indeed the latter’s boffins have described the R6 as one of the best kitcars they’ve sampled and they’ve looked at a lot! Praise indeed.
Personally, I find it hard to criticise the overall package especially at the £17,619 factory built on-the-road price and OK there might be a necessity for a dead pedal for your clutch foot and some of the dash trim is a bit ragged but other than that you’d need to look very hard to find any fault. In any case a DIY builder can easily sort the points I raise. For the outlay you’d need to have a strong resolve to not even consider the R6 if you’re looking at say, the Caterham CSR 200, which would cost you £31,000, a whopping £13,500 premium over what is a very similar product. If you prefer to build the R6 Duratec yourself, then the body/chassis kit costs £3496 inc VAT and is a good starting point if space and/or budget are issues, as you can buy each of the nine subsequent component packs individually. Alternatively you can buy the comprehensive kit for £13,513 inc VAT, which handily also comes with a lightened flywheel, 4-into-1 exhaust, alternator fittings, aluminium sump and starter motor. This leaves the customer to source the Duratec i4 engine, gearbox (standard Type 9 on the demo car), wheels and tyres. You can always buy your engine from Tiger direct or shop around the myriad tuning companies offering i4 packages. Either way going the DIY route you’re going to end up spending about £15,000 on your build.
Jim Dudley reckons that when it comes to extras you’ll be left scratching around to make unnecessary changes. For instance we’ve already mentioned the possibility of AP Racing components instead of Sierra Cosworth and but I’d have to ask “Why”? As you really don’t need them. If you insist you’ll be looking at about £1000. You could also have the car painted, and you should allow about £1000 for this too, although now that Tiger have new R6 moulds panel fit is exemplary and if the pale blue gelcoat is anything to go by paint isn’t vital. I suppose you could also put in a trick gearbox, such as a Quaife straight cut item or MT75, but the standard type 9 in the demo is quiet and most importantly works well. Another bag of sand could be spent there taking total expenditure up to £20,500, which is still a great value package.
In the latest issue of totalkitcar we compare the leading Lotus Seven-inspired protagonists with a Caterham R300 and although a certain writer reckoned that the rivals didn’t match up (!) I think they do and if the gap isn’t completely closed it’s only gnat’s sized. Fact is a Caterham Seven in whatever guise is a great car and it would take a fool to disagree, but if a badge on your bonnet isn’t the be-all and end-all then you need to be taking a trip to Thorney Toll soon because Tiger Racing have not just raised their own bar to its highest level they have come up with arguably one of the best cars in its sector. As Leslie Crowther once said “The Price is Right, come on down”! Indeed.
For more information on the R6 contact:
Tiger Racing Ltd; ECCO New Toll Service Station, Fen Road, Thorney Toll, Cambridgeshire PE13 4AX
Tel: 01733 849 328
Website: www.tigerracing.co.uk
Words by Steve Hole
Photos by Carol Hardy
© 2005 CAR PR Ltd & totalkitcar – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
