Locost

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The Locost is a low cost (hence the name) Lotus Seven look-alike described in the book "Build your own sports car for as little as £250" by Ron Champion (ISBN 1-85960-636-9). The automobile can either be built from scratch using the book or bought in kit form. A followup called Build Your Own Sports Car: On a budget by Chris Gibbs where the donor car is a Ford Sierra is due to be published in January 2007.[1]

The car features a space frame chassis usually welded together from mild steel square tubing. Front suspension is usually double wishbone with coil overs. The rear has many variants including live axle, independent rear suspension or De Dion tube. Body panels are usually fiberglass nose and wings and aluminium side panels. Each car is highly individual due to home built nature.

Canadian built example using running gear, engine, transmission, diff and brakes from Toyota Corolla GTS Twincam, uprights from a Hyundai Stellar and steering rack from MG B.

The car described in the book is build using parts from a Mk1 or Mk2 Ford Escort with front spindles from Ford Cortina, but people building the car have used parts from many different cars to make their version of the Locost. Recently in the UK the Ford Sierra has been the most popular choice. In North America everything from an old Toyota Corolla to a Mazda Miata to small trucks have been used. Rotary (Wankel) engines are also starting to make their way into these nimble cars.

Both Colin Chapman and Ron Champion have a background in the 750 Motor Club and the design of the Locost is based on a Clubman's Race Car designed and built by Ron Champion in 1963. The rear is of course "inspired by" Lotus 7.

Many different companies make and sell parts and complete kits for building the car, some examples are MK Engineering (who have continued on the concept and now offer their MK Indy, based on the Ford Sierra), RaceTech with their Lada based ESTfield, Coveland Motorsports (who also makes a chassis for using Mazda Miata parts)[2], DD7 in Umeå, Sweden [3] and many more.

The Locost is not to be confused with the similarly named Locust which is also a Lotus Seven inspired car. In contrast to the Locost's space frame chassis, the Locust uses a ladder chassis and a body constructed from plywood skinned with aluminium.

The Locost has produced one of the most successful championships in UK Club Motor sport, the Formula Locost. Organised by the 750 Motor Club the 2006 championship regularly sees over 40 competitors racing at circuits such as Brands Hatch, Donington, Thruxton and Silverstone, to name but a few. Running with very tight regulations and deliberately limiting costs, the 750 Motor Club have ensured affordable and close competitive racing for the enthusiastic amateur. While it is not really possible to build a race car for the £250 quoted in the title of the book by Ron Champion, it is probably the least expensive form of motor sport available in the UK.

Locosts racing at Brands Hatch in 2005.

A common question people as is if it's really possible to build a Locost for £250. Most build seems to end up at ten times the amount even if some have succeded in making very inexpensive builds. The Locost book design uses a mk1 or mk2 Ford Escort. Those are hard to find and thus expensive. The cost also does not include all the tools you need for the build. The book gives some hints and tips on how to cut the costs for the build that many builders choose to ignore, some examples are

build the chassis from scrap metal instead of buying new
make your own fibreglass nosecone and wheel arches instead of buying them
use the rear seat from the donor or one from the junkyard instead of buying new race seats
use the donor gauges, steering wheel and rims instead of buying new
buy wrongly mixed paint at a discount and paint the car yourself
find some aluminium sheet metal at the scrapper(for instance from the side of a van) to use for the bonnet

Locost frame and some body panels.

Some builders have come up with additional cost saving tips

use the sheet metal roof of the donor for the bottom of the chassis instead of buying new sheet metal
use the gas tank from a Saab 96 or Triumph Spitfire
use the headlights and chrome rims from an older Volvo 240 and a stainless steel salad bowl from IKEA to make the headlights