Saker Cars
 | |
| Type | Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automobile manufacturing |
| Founder(s) | Bruce Turnbull |
| Headquarters | Feilding, New Zealand |
| Products | Saker SV1, SVS GT, SVS Sprint |
| Website | Saker Cars NZ |
Saker Sports Cars originated in New Zealand and have been manufactured from 1989 to the present day. The Saker car is named after the bird of prey, found in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The first Saker SV1 was designed and built by Bruce Turnbull, of Turnbull Engineering, in Feilding, New Zealand. The car was road legal and regularly used for touring and competition.
Brief Specifications:
- Steel space-fame chassis
- fiberglass body panels
- mid-mounted 3-litre V6 engine.
- 5-speed transaxle.
- Left- or right-hand drive.[citation needed]
A limited number of SV1 types were built and these cars were powered with a variety of engines, including V8 and V6.
Saker sports cars built as touring cars can be made road-legal in a number countries including, UK, Japan and New Zealand.
The Saker SVS GT and SVS Sprint were produced from 1999. The Sprint is an open-top version. This model features updated chassis and mechanicals. The main changes were to the space-fame chassis, to allow it to accept a ‘boxer’-type flat-4- or 6-cylinder engine. The popular choice is the Subaru Impreza WRX turbo 4- and 2-wheel drive, converted transaxle.
The Saker GT and Sprint are also manufactured in the Netherlands, under license. These cars manufactured by Saker Sportscars Europe, based in Etten-Leur since 2005, are race only cars and compete in the European Saker Sportscar Challenge.[1] Saker Europe has since developed a new body in 2010 for their existing Saker GT and Sprint platforms known as RapX and Sniper.
A small number (Believed to be around 3) of race-only Saker GTs were also manufactured under license in the USA. One road-going Saker SVS was imported from New Zealand into the USA in 2004. It was fitted with a Lexus 1UZ-FE 4.0-liter V8 engine mated to a Renault UN1 5-speed Transaxle. Since then it has undergone surgery to accept a highly modified Chevy LS6 5.7L V8 that is just shy of 500 hp mated to an Audi 01E (DQS variant) 6-speed transaxle. At the time of the engine change the owner also modified the body, headlights, tail lights, and front bumper/splitter to make the car look more modern.[citation needed]
The Belgian team Fun Still Exists (known also as FSE) uses 3 Sakers for different events and races on the Circuit Zolder.
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