This weekend we were invited by Chris Craft to have a look at the Rocket workshop. It turned out to be a fantastic afternoon. A story about Rockets, unique Rocket merchandise, attention to detail, Le Mans testing on public roads and why you should never buy a VW.
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Unique Rocket tea-set. A gift from ex-Beatle George Harrison. Only three sets were produced.
It was about 1:30 PM as we arrived at Hghwood. We parked next to a little Fiat 500 and a Vemac RD180. Another car develop by Chris and Luke Craft. Chris welcomed us and made a nice coffee. We sat down at the kitchen table and felt home instantly. Chris told us many things about the Rocket. First of all it was never the intention to build a series of Rockets. The initial plan for the Rocket was born after an evening with Gordon and a few drinks. Maybe one too many. They talked a little about the ideal fun car. It had to be the ultimate lightweight car, no compromise, central seating position. Like a sixties F1 car for the road. With a bike engine! "Single seater!", said Gordon."Nah", said Chris, "At least one passengerseat, otherwise you can't show it off to your friends". The concept of Rocket was born.
Now Chris is not the type of guy who is just thinking up plans, he actually realizes them. And while working out the first ideas, friends came along who got interested in the concept and wanted one as well. George Harrison wanted one. Mark Knopfler wanted one, as well as Guy Fletcher. "Maybe I should have offered them all £ 5000 and tell them to go away instead of accepting the orders.", Chris said with a smile. There was no way out and the Light Car Company was born.
Chris restarted production of the Rocket last year, when he bought back the chassis, produced from the illborn Raceseries, and parts of the Light Car Company and created the Rocket Car Co. He doesn't want to turn it into a large scale business. To him, it's just a matter of continuing the thing. He felt he had to do it. He talks with passion about his cars. We talk about how the market has evolved since the Rocket was introduced and new lightweight high performance cars, like the Road Razor, the Atom and Ultima's, came on the market. All fantastic cars, but if you look at the package and the people who worked on the Rocket, it really is no competition. The Rocket is unique, built in really small numbers. "I get quite a few requests from people, who ask me if it can be fitted with a BMW or a Hayabusa engine. But I refuse to do that. The Rocket is still as close to the initial concept as it was when it was introduced.", Chris explains. "Let me show you the workshop."
We walk up to the workshop which is next door. Inside we see three Chassis. R039/R001, R034 and R035/R002. The first one is the first one of the new production series. Finished in white with red wheels. R034 is the former darkblue demonstrator, pictured on the top of this website. It is currently undergoing a nut and bolt restoration and will be ready by the end of February. R035/R002 is the red/white/gold livered race demonstrator. The raceseries was cancelled after the series namesponsor changed his mind last minute and decided to sponsor the Lamborghini race series instead of the Euroseries, which was to support the BPR races. "Oh well, that happens in motorsport", he said.
Apart from the three cars a lot of parts and chassis are piled up in the workshop. They only arrived here a short time ago and everything still needs to get in place. "What do you think of this?" asks Chris as he pulls the blanket off a fantastic lightweight V8 engine. "400 hp!", smiling. The engine for the Lightning, which we also find in the workshop. No bodywork, just the chassis. Another car Chris is working on, is what he calls his France cruiser. "I love France, just a pity they wasted it on the French." This project is based on an MG RV8 chassis. The drawings on the wall and wooden plates on the chassis give an idea of what it is going to look like. "It might be a cruiser, but don't think it isn't going to be fast", he grins.
Chris walks up to R039/R001 and explains in what aspect the new Rocket differs from the old one. " Basicly it's the same car. This one has fuel injection and we're developing a new suspension for it together with Bilstein. I always felt that part could be improved, so now we have a chance to do it. Brakes are still the same. They are still amazing these days. By special request of the new owner the fuel tank was placed in a different place and is now positioned under the passenger seat. Other parts were assembled in order to improve the performance. "Lemme show you this. Now where is it?" Chris searches the workshop and comes back with a great looking airbox. Beautifully machined and ofcourse ultra light, "Take a look at this.", he says, while handing over the airbox. "Costed me £3 K to produce. And guess what? 9 Bhp LESS!!" He continues showing super light parts that make the Rocket what it is. Parts without any redundant weight. Gordon Murray written all over it. "He designed it. But who do you think paid for it?", he grins. He doesn't regret it a single second. He is in the same league of fanatics as Gordon is. He also told us how the Rocket influenced the design of VW's 1 liter car. The car Piech drove on his last day to the office. Chris was offered any car from the VW range, from a Lupo to a Lamborghini, is they could borrow the Rocket for their research. He did and they surely used a lot of his and Gordon's ideas, as is made clear from the picture below. "I never got the car, though. Not even a thank you letter. Faxes to the PR department of VW were left unanswered. It took a personal letter to Pischetsrieder before they offered us a Touareg and a R32 for a year. And the worst thing of all: They bent the Rocket!!"
After the tour we walked back at the house and stopped at the Vemac, the third prototype. Chris showed us all the details. My friend and I are really amazed by the quality of this protype. It certainly beats the quality of current Lotus Elises, and this is just a proto! Once in the house another coffee is served and we chat for about an hour about Chris his past as a racing driver. The man has some amazing stories. Stories about friendship, hard but fair racing, leaning against opponents in corners instead of banging them of track. Stories about how to throw a rental car around Barcelona without using the brakes, losing some weight and modfying the bodywork in the process. Le Mans testing on public roads. Great stuff. All in all a fantastic afternoon.
As he walks us up to our car, he looks at the little Fiat. "The best package design ever. Gordon, Peter (Stevens) and I all have one". Then another idea sparks to his mind. " You know, maybe I should put the Lightning V8 in it". So don't be surpised if you see a V8 engined Fiat 500 around Chigwell in the near future.
A very big thank you to Chris Craft!
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