real race car Feel
Most of us have driven family sedans, grocery getter's, sports coupes, and other street cars with numerous enhancements for track driving. At the end of the day, they just aren't purpose built race cars. The best reason to drive a Thunder Roadster is hard to explain. You slide into your race seat through the top of the roll cage and strap yourself in. With the push of a button the motor fires up. It's just you in the cockpit. Once you get on the track, no computer is helping you cheat your way around the course. The rubber on the road is connected through the full race suspension to the purpose built chassis to the seat of the driver. You feel everything, including the wind passing you through the open cockpit. There is a special connection between the driver and the car. The most compelling reason to drive a Thunder Roadster is what you feel when you drive it.
performance
The lap times speak for themselves. Thunder Roadster Xtreme offers the near perfect balance of acceleration, handling, and braking for a road course.
safety of a purpose built race car
You can start by comparing the the size of the tubing in the cage of Thunder Roadster to your favorite street car converted for track use (if you have a cage at all). Then look at the crush zones in the front, rear, and side pods of the car. In the event of a crash, you have full rollover protection and fire suppression there to protect you. Watch the videos online of crashes involving Thunder Roadsters. It's astonishing what drivers walk away from unscathed.
affordability
INITIAL PURCHASE
A decent Yamaha powered Thunder Roadster can easily be found for $5,000 - $8,000. When this was written, we easily found two listed online for $5,000. An extremely nice, never raced, car is currently listed online for $11,000 (and we just made a deal to purchase it for $10,000 pending shipping arrangements). You won't buy a Thunder Roadster Xtreme for this price, but you will get a reliable, cheap to operate, intermediate track car that can be raced or used for driver development in HPDE. When you are ready, or when it's time for a new motor, you have the option to upgrade to Hayabusa powered car.
Used Hyabusa powered Thunder Roadsters can be tough to find, but they are available for between $15,000 - $25,000. We are working hard to make new and upgraded TRX Thunder Roadsters readily available. If you are interested, please contact us for availability. A top of the line TRX Thunder Roadster with numerous options can be purchased for $30,000 - $40,000.
While that is not inexpensive, their are very few platforms out there that allow you to buy a purpose built race car for as little as $5,000, and then upgrade it to a top of the line, competitive, track monster for so little money. The best part is, the value doesn't stop there.
CONSUMABLES & MAINTENANCE
Brakes and tires the cost the same as a Spec Miata and last longer. A fresh motor and transmission readily available out of a wrecked Hayabusa for $3,000-$4,000. Runs on 87 octane pump gas, and you won't need very much of it. Need we say more.
COLLISION REPAIR
Machines break, other drivers make mistakes, or you simply run out of talent in the middle of turn. You may be the most talented, safest, and luckiest driver in history, but it doesn't matter. If you drive long enough, you will wreck. An accident that would have totaled your street car can easily be repaired at a fraction of the cost.
A decent Yamaha powered Thunder Roadster can easily be found for $5,000 - $8,000. When this was written, we easily found two listed online for $5,000. An extremely nice, never raced, car is currently listed online for $11,000 (and we just made a deal to purchase it for $10,000 pending shipping arrangements). You won't buy a Thunder Roadster Xtreme for this price, but you will get a reliable, cheap to operate, intermediate track car that can be raced or used for driver development in HPDE. When you are ready, or when it's time for a new motor, you have the option to upgrade to Hayabusa powered car.
Used Hyabusa powered Thunder Roadsters can be tough to find, but they are available for between $15,000 - $25,000. We are working hard to make new and upgraded TRX Thunder Roadsters readily available. If you are interested, please contact us for availability. A top of the line TRX Thunder Roadster with numerous options can be purchased for $30,000 - $40,000.
While that is not inexpensive, their are very few platforms out there that allow you to buy a purpose built race car for as little as $5,000, and then upgrade it to a top of the line, competitive, track monster for so little money. The best part is, the value doesn't stop there.
CONSUMABLES & MAINTENANCE
Brakes and tires the cost the same as a Spec Miata and last longer. A fresh motor and transmission readily available out of a wrecked Hayabusa for $3,000-$4,000. Runs on 87 octane pump gas, and you won't need very much of it. Need we say more.
COLLISION REPAIR
Machines break, other drivers make mistakes, or you simply run out of talent in the middle of turn. You may be the most talented, safest, and luckiest driver in history, but it doesn't matter. If you drive long enough, you will wreck. An accident that would have totaled your street car can easily be repaired at a fraction of the cost.