New Sports Model Is A Mix Of The Exotic
Newcastle Herald
Saturday March 20, 2004
IS 2004 the year of the sports car?
It would seem so given the publicity surrounding the new Elfin-Holdens, the Oz-bound Pagani Zonda and Noble's M12.
Now there is another car on the horizon and it hails from the sleepy south-east Queensland town of Gatton.
The car, a clubman-style open two-seater, is called the Skelta G-Force and is the brainchild of businessman Ray Vandersee who operates his Skelta Sports Car company as a division of his Toowoomba-based farm machinery and truck dealership, Vanderfield Pty Ltd.
Mr Vandersee has so far unveiled a quarter-scale model of the real McCoy and a full-sized chassis for a car which, he said, should be available by the end of the year. The promised car sounds interesting. Built using exotic materials such as carbon fibre, kevlar, magnesium, aluminium and chrome-moly, it is expected to weigh less than 600kg.
Skelta's design has the engine up front but mounted back towards the centreline of the car to give a claimed 50:50 weight distribution. Drive is to the back wheels via a six-speed transmission.
Mr Vandersee's plans call for a 2.0 litre engine developing around 180 kilowatts. Which company will supply engines for the car is not known at this stage.
One thing Mr Vandersee is sure about is that Skelta will deliver the goods. He says 180kW in a car weighing 595kg should have it running from 0-100kmh in 4.1 seconds, covering the standing 400 metre dash in 12.1 seconds and give it a top speed of just over 250kmh.
© 2004 Newcastle Herald
