GT40NZ Changing????
- Thread starter Bill D
- Start date
Check out www.gt40na.com in the process of construction...there's even a little "GT40NZ" icon on the bottom of the gallery page... hmm... as mentioned, are they moving to the US?
Maybe Dave is setting up a new dealership (distributor...)
In fact I am pretty sure that is the situation.
In fact I am pretty sure that is the situation.
To clarify the position as to the changes to our website, GT40 NZ has formed an integrated partnership with GT40 North America. Manufacturing will be done in NZ and completed in the US by IRL technicians in our facility there. Only turnkeys will be suplied in future, although parts support will continue as the market demands. Dealerships will be establish across the US. We look forward to a series of exciting announcements in the near future.
Ron Earp
Admin
That is unfortunate since there will be only a few companies offering kits - ERA, RF, Tornado, and GT40 Australia if they're still producing.
I'm sure the manufacturers might justify by saying they want to control quality and don't want any variability in product on the road. A noble goal, for sure, but I suspect the real underlying reason is that kits are not very profitable. That is too bad since there are a lot of folks that will want to build the cars for a purpose or to make it unique, not to just purchase a GT40 that is like their neighbors.
R
I'm sure the manufacturers might justify by saying they want to control quality and don't want any variability in product on the road. A noble goal, for sure, but I suspect the real underlying reason is that kits are not very profitable. That is too bad since there are a lot of folks that will want to build the cars for a purpose or to make it unique, not to just purchase a GT40 that is like their neighbors.
R
Ron
Not only do you lose some individuality, you shut out those
that financially need to build in stages and supply sweat equity to swing a GT40. To me that's the real loss.
I suspect there's a larger total market for GT40 kits
than turnkeys or turnkey minus...but no one has come up with THE kit yet. RF/ERA/DRB etc have only scratched the surface.
MikeD
Not only do you lose some individuality, you shut out those
that financially need to build in stages and supply sweat equity to swing a GT40. To me that's the real loss.
I suspect there's a larger total market for GT40 kits
than turnkeys or turnkey minus...but no one has come up with THE kit yet. RF/ERA/DRB etc have only scratched the surface.
MikeD
Ron Earp
Admin
Not to go on a tanget but I think the current group of kits is pretty good. I just don't think they're going to get much cheaper if that is what you're shooting for. The NZ kit didn't seem bad either if you didn't mind sourcing a lot of things from other places. But, with that gone now the choices are more limited.
I think GT40 NZ is missing a big opportunity. There is only one kit offered on US soil, the ERA, and that one is out of most people's price range. So, if they would partner up and build here they'd get a lot more people into kits.
A lot of folks are shy about sending a bunch of cash overseas to import a replica car. I'm not since I do a lot of overseas business, importing, and travel, but I'm sure it affects lots of folks people. If they built the kit and turnkey here in the US they'd be a leg up.
R
I think GT40 NZ is missing a big opportunity. There is only one kit offered on US soil, the ERA, and that one is out of most people's price range. So, if they would partner up and build here they'd get a lot more people into kits.
A lot of folks are shy about sending a bunch of cash overseas to import a replica car. I'm not since I do a lot of overseas business, importing, and travel, but I'm sure it affects lots of folks people. If they built the kit and turnkey here in the US they'd be a leg up.
R
Bill
It doesn't "seem" high....IT IS HIGH!
We're talking about a space frame car.
But the great thing about free trade is you can ask
whatever you want.
If Andre is correct...Superformance will soon be selling
turnkey minus authentic monos into the US for well under
$ 100k. Not that I could afford one...just to put this
all into perspective.
And yes Ron...a lower cost US based space frame is exactly
what I'm talking about. I do believe the value currently provided by RF/ERA/DRB/etc is good. In fact I have a kit
on order. But I firmly believe there is still a real
opportunity to provide a significantly better value kit
to US consumers. As Bill says..time will tell.
MikeD
It doesn't "seem" high....IT IS HIGH!
We're talking about a space frame car.
But the great thing about free trade is you can ask
whatever you want.
If Andre is correct...Superformance will soon be selling
turnkey minus authentic monos into the US for well under
$ 100k. Not that I could afford one...just to put this
all into perspective.
And yes Ron...a lower cost US based space frame is exactly
what I'm talking about. I do believe the value currently provided by RF/ERA/DRB/etc is good. In fact I have a kit
on order. But I firmly believe there is still a real
opportunity to provide a significantly better value kit
to US consumers. As Bill says..time will tell.
MikeD
I completely agree with you Mike. I think there is untapped market in the US for the kits... ESPECIALLY since the Ford GT is coming out. If someone in the states could produce a kit with the same quality as NZ/ERA/RF...etc. without having to pay the 5 grand plus to get the thing over here, I think many people would give it consideration over the imports.
The market for a kit that you can stage would be greater simply because more people can afford it. I'm not suggesting that the GT40 kit industry to compete with the FFR price point. But I am saying with a little bit of planning, ingenuity and luck, a stateside kit could be offered for a reasonable price that could beat the imports.
I think $105K for the NZ turnkey is crazy... If I had that much cash I'd go ahead and spring for the new GT and forget this replica stuff. Just my .02
-Shannon
The market for a kit that you can stage would be greater simply because more people can afford it. I'm not suggesting that the GT40 kit industry to compete with the FFR price point. But I am saying with a little bit of planning, ingenuity and luck, a stateside kit could be offered for a reasonable price that could beat the imports.
I think $105K for the NZ turnkey is crazy... If I had that much cash I'd go ahead and spring for the new GT and forget this replica stuff. Just my .02
-Shannon
I checked Gordon Levy's site, and he will make a turnkey RF GT40 beginning at $75K. The RF GT40 is a proven car, while the NZ GT40 is still an unknown, and $30K more expensive.
I wish there was a way to make equal comparisons of the various brands. For now, I'm leaning towards the RF GT40 rolling chassis kit starting at $20,500.
Bill D
I wish there was a way to make equal comparisons of the various brands. For now, I'm leaning towards the RF GT40 rolling chassis kit starting at $20,500.
Bill D
Definately an interesting discussion. I would like to see an american-based manufacturer here as well that uses available/obtainable suspension parts. The price issue does make the 40 a small market. Most guys I know that are interested don't have 40k or more to drop on a delux kit/roller. However, most of them could come up with 15-20k to get started. It really leaves few choices. I'm sure someone could come up with a chassis/body combo for around 15k. I would have gladly paid someone 6-10k for just a chassis alone. I know several welder/fab guys that could do it for less than that looking at the frame I have now. In hindsight, maybe I should have contacted a race-shop.
I wound up doing the import thing and it has worked out with a few ripples here and there. Basically I bought a roller and imported it for 17k. So, until a new manufacturer comes out, I'll be modifying the one I have, Scott
I wound up doing the import thing and it has worked out with a few ripples here and there. Basically I bought a roller and imported it for 17k. So, until a new manufacturer comes out, I'll be modifying the one I have, Scott
cscott67,
I'm with you. I actually have some pretty good resources when it comes to the engineering part of it. One of my friends has done quite well as a freelance designer; Including designing a chassis for a race car. My problems come in with the dimensions of the chassis... without a body or blueprints to start with it's nearly impossible.. even with a body you've got to be pretty darned good to pull off designing a chassis. My friend uses Pro-E.. it can do 3-d rendering with stress analysis.. the works. He's even said that he'd design it if I could get my hands on a body and/or some exact measurments. I've seen his work, he's brilliant in my opinion.
Anyway, its the thing dreams are made of... at least mine... yes I know I'm strange..........
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
-Shannon
I'm with you. I actually have some pretty good resources when it comes to the engineering part of it. One of my friends has done quite well as a freelance designer; Including designing a chassis for a race car. My problems come in with the dimensions of the chassis... without a body or blueprints to start with it's nearly impossible.. even with a body you've got to be pretty darned good to pull off designing a chassis. My friend uses Pro-E.. it can do 3-d rendering with stress analysis.. the works. He's even said that he'd design it if I could get my hands on a body and/or some exact measurments. I've seen his work, he's brilliant in my opinion.
Anyway, its the thing dreams are made of... at least mine... yes I know I'm strange..........
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
-Shannon
Guys,
My view of this is that if there could be a FFR kit of GT40s here in North America then there would be. Unfortunatly The price of labor here in the U.S. is pretty much the limiting factor. I at one time looked into manufacturing a kit here but quickly gave up the idea because of the complexity of the car itself. The molds to produce this car was well into the 100K range not to mention the frame and suspension work. Even is you had all that going for you the cost to make the parts are not cheap even if they are made in house. Try as I may, the cost to produce a Mk I GT kit here in the States was around 60K after the cost of doing business. I had know idea this car was as complicated as it is. The fuel system alone is a small fortune. This is not a car that lends itself well to a production car. Every frame is built one at a time on a jig and the bodies are built one at a time in the molds which consists of about 28 molds. Now start thinking about sourcing all the proper componants. If you really start to think about how they are made then you can see why they cost what they do. There is nobody that would like an FFR GT40 more than me but for now that title has to go to RF cause they are the only other kit offering out there with the lowest price. And the last time I checked the site, they still offer a base starter kit for around 20K.
The last I heard from Tornado they were booked up to 40 weeks. Most RF's are delivered in under 5 months in most cases.
Shipping an RF kit costs between 2200 and 3000 U.S. It all depends on how many are shipped at one time and what the going rate for shipping is at that time. To ship by air is about $4000 give or take a few hundred. By air you get your kit in a week and by ship it will be close to a month.
If anyone has a better way then please share it cause I'm always interested in a better way that works.
Hersh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Oh Yes! RF does one hell of a turnkey too! And it certainly isn't near 100K /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
My view of this is that if there could be a FFR kit of GT40s here in North America then there would be. Unfortunatly The price of labor here in the U.S. is pretty much the limiting factor. I at one time looked into manufacturing a kit here but quickly gave up the idea because of the complexity of the car itself. The molds to produce this car was well into the 100K range not to mention the frame and suspension work. Even is you had all that going for you the cost to make the parts are not cheap even if they are made in house. Try as I may, the cost to produce a Mk I GT kit here in the States was around 60K after the cost of doing business. I had know idea this car was as complicated as it is. The fuel system alone is a small fortune. This is not a car that lends itself well to a production car. Every frame is built one at a time on a jig and the bodies are built one at a time in the molds which consists of about 28 molds. Now start thinking about sourcing all the proper componants. If you really start to think about how they are made then you can see why they cost what they do. There is nobody that would like an FFR GT40 more than me but for now that title has to go to RF cause they are the only other kit offering out there with the lowest price. And the last time I checked the site, they still offer a base starter kit for around 20K.
The last I heard from Tornado they were booked up to 40 weeks. Most RF's are delivered in under 5 months in most cases.
Shipping an RF kit costs between 2200 and 3000 U.S. It all depends on how many are shipped at one time and what the going rate for shipping is at that time. To ship by air is about $4000 give or take a few hundred. By air you get your kit in a week and by ship it will be close to a month.
If anyone has a better way then please share it cause I'm always interested in a better way that works.
Hersh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Oh Yes! RF does one hell of a turnkey too! And it certainly isn't near 100K /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Hersh, I agree with you on a few points. The cars are more complicated, and that certainly leads to more expense. However, the space-frames are no big deal (pretty simple compared to NHRA specs for a car capable of those speeds), and the bodies can be had for 3-4k if you wanted to buy them out-right instead of doing your own. Toss out the shipping oversea coupled with local availability of suspension, and the project looks better economically. So, I feel no one has stepped up to the plate. What I am/was suggesting is a chassis which uses current production components/brakes for the front-end like DRB, and heim jointed trailing arms etc. for the rear. Throw in a cd of suppliers for the rest of the parts, and a photoshop of a build. Let the brave and thrifty get their hands dirty!
Certainly there would be people that want a complete kit with complete plans/hand-holding/phone support. Those people should be referred to someone that makes a COMPLETE kit and pay those prices. I'm not suggesting a/an FFR kit. Basically all you need with them is a drivetrain and suspension/wheels to complete an FFR. That is why I suggested a list of suppliers for everything else.
The fuel system would probably need to be made available, as well as exhaust. Those two pieces are pretty expensive/hard to get, and custom is not cheap! So, I still believe it can be done.
On another note, I see that you are the distributor for RF in AZ. What happened to Gordon Levy? I sent him an e-mail a few months back with questions about an RF roller,and heard nothing when I first started looking at the different products available. Regards, Scott
Certainly there would be people that want a complete kit with complete plans/hand-holding/phone support. Those people should be referred to someone that makes a COMPLETE kit and pay those prices. I'm not suggesting a/an FFR kit. Basically all you need with them is a drivetrain and suspension/wheels to complete an FFR. That is why I suggested a list of suppliers for everything else.
The fuel system would probably need to be made available, as well as exhaust. Those two pieces are pretty expensive/hard to get, and custom is not cheap! So, I still believe it can be done.
On another note, I see that you are the distributor for RF in AZ. What happened to Gordon Levy? I sent him an e-mail a few months back with questions about an RF roller,and heard nothing when I first started looking at the different products available. Regards, Scott
