A Locost is a home-built clone of the Lotus Seven. 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 is traditionally live axle, but has many variants including independent rear suspension or De Dion tube. Body panels are usually fiberglass nose and wings and aluminium side panels. Each car is highly individualized according to the resources, needs and desires of each respective builder.
The original design was intended to be built from scratch. However, the design has become so popular that several fabricators have begun producing the chassis in kit car form. Additionally, fiberglass body components, suspension pieces and other Locost-specific components can be sourced from various suppliers.
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. A reasonably large number of locosts (by kitcar standards) were produced in the mid to late 1970s,using ford(escort)parts predominately
Ron Champion's original book was followed up with Build Your Own Sports Car: On a Budget (ISBN 1-84425-391-0) by Chris Gibbs. The subject car differs most significantly from the original in that it has an independent rear suspension. Additionally, the car was designed using CAD software, eliminating the measurement errors inherent to the original design. Other additions to the original Locost design include information for fabricating a rollbar and advice on using engines with Fuel Injection.
The suggested donor car is a Ford Sierra. The book contains alternative suggestions for incorporating other donors including a BMW E36, Mazda MX-5 and also motorcycle engines.
Roadsters are becoming an increasingly popular choice over the Locost due to the more plentiful donors and the more advanced suspension. Approximately 10 ( as of April 2010 ) cars have been completed and passed by their countries government for use on the road. In the UK this entails an IVA test and registration with the DVLA.
Various projects have analyzed the strength of the Locost Chassis under Finite Element Analysis for interests sake. The FEA is known to show the original Locost's design to be slightly under engineered.
The £250 figure does not include the cost of tools, which can equal the cost of the car or more. The book also is based on purchasing a Mk1 or Mk2 Ford Escort that has been rejected for road use by the British MOT. At the time of printing, Champion claimed said cars could be purchased for £50. Rear wheel drive Escorts are now hard to find due to their becoming a classic car in their own right, continued use in Rallying and increased interest from collectors.
The book gives some hints and tips on how to cut the costs for the build:
Some builders have come up with additional cost saving tips:
Even at ten times the £250, Locosts frequently cost far less than a car of similar performance.
In North America, the Toyota Corolla and Mazda Miata are popular donor cars. The Wankel engine-based Mazda RX-7 is also starting to become popular.
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, DD7 in Umeå, Sweden and many more.
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 championship regularly sees around 35 competitors racing at circuits such as Brands Hatch, Donington, Oulton park 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. With cost around £5000 for a season once you have all the necessary parts like race wear car trailer etc.
While locost racing is not as popular in North America, Locosts are eligible to compete in several amateur racing formats under many governing bodies such as the SCCA and NASA. Grassroots Motorsports' $200X Challenge has a special category for Locosts and other kit cars.
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