Tested: 999 Motorsports Supersport Racer!

it has head lamps from a evo X, and tail lamps from a mazda 2.

big willow lap time?

1:29.754

I think that thing can go around big Willow as fast as a cup Porsche with more boost and suspension setup and a driver thats used to the aero in that car.

Neat car, best of luck to 999 Motorsports selling these toys. They look smartly designed and tons of fun. Do want!

That's the stock LNF turbo, a BorgWarner K04. It does look very similar to the EFR!

The fastest time so far is a 1:26 something set by Stu Hayner. He is a seasoned pro used to downforce cars. Dai was just as quick or quicker in about every turn except 9 where he was loosing about 2 seconds. Dai was being very careful as I cautioned him not to hurt the car one bit prior to us getting there.

Dai told me he could have gone much faster in 9 but he could not feel the limit as this is the first time he has driven a downforce car so he only went as fast as he felt was totaly safe.

The Supersport makes so much downforce, the suspension compresses about 2" at speed, you might be able to tell from some of the pictures. This is about 1200 lbs @ 100 mph.

i wonder how it would compare to the D4 over at http://www.palatov.com/ both are purpose built racers with different methods of execution.

i hope we start to see more purpose built racers, lowering the cost per km (or mile for people south of the border) will bring the ceiling lower and bolster grids while providing a better entry point for younger racers with a passion for the sport.

1,200 lbs of downforce on a car that only weighs 2,200 lbs? WOW.

Also, I'm insane, because I would drive that car to work every day.

The car would actualy be pretty streetable, it rides smoothly and the powertrain has no more quirks than a Cobalt SS.

It's just missing side windows and a HVAC system.

The cockpit looks really roomy. It looks designed for left side entrance? I bet tire wear goes up when the driver is acclimated to high G aerodynamic turns.

The article said it didn't need to be heelntoe'd on downshifts. Does it have a revmatch system kinda like the 370Z or is there a different reason for that?

It just doesn't seem to need it. It doesn't shift lock or anything.

The Palatov is a completely different sort of car. It is more like a Radical with a space frame and a Motorcycle derived powertrain. It is small, light and way more maintenance intensive.

It looks fragile in comparison to the Supersport. It is also faster. I don't think it is currently approved for any racing class.

The Supersport is bigger, much heavier and way more rugged. It promise to be fuss free to maintain. The Supersport is homologted for two racing classes.

I don't see how the d4 is more maintenance intensive, it uses a modular construction as well as having a one piece body that opens up like a clam shell and alows easy access to all componentry. Combined with using a similar willwood brake setup and full underbody areo.

I forget the calculated cost per km that was quoted, but if you venture over to www.dpcars.net the creator has put up full build logs of all of his creations which would include more information on that. I was suprised when I found out how much a cup car cost to run.

I agree that the super sport is definitly a more rugged vehicle but I think that you may have over estimated the ammound of maintenance needed on the D4.

As for the racing classes issue, in the blog the creator mentions that he is planning on getting it certified as well and with a base price in the sub 40k range it makes an easy argument for a one make series.

Motorcycle based race engines wear pretty quickly and need a lot of maintenance. Radicals go as little as 5 hours on a motor maintenance cycle. A Radical engine is poked up to 1.5 liters though so it probably has pretty high piston speed.

This is really cool. The proportions are a little awkward but that seems like a lot of car for the money, I can see why you're psyched about it. It does look like a breeze to work on.

What's the disconcerting noise on Dais first turn in and periodically afterwards, mic wind noise or what?

I met Jackson and got to work with him briefly last year. I was told he had a passion for motorsports but this takes on a whole new meaning!

Great stuff Mike and thanks for giving the Ecotec some props. I think too many JDM fan boys just write off these fairly underrated engines.

@6SPD, it's probably the front splitter scrapping making the noise.

The noise is the underside of the car scraping the track. Its more the tracks fault than the car.

The noise is the rear part of the sideskirt that rubs when cornering and aero loading compresses the suspension it is totaly normal.

This thing is pretty cool. I'd rather build my own, but everyone knows how that urge goes. Still, it's really just a good idea... seems like direct competition for that Caterham track day thing with the Ecoboost in the back.

Properly built track focused cars are really catching my attention lately. Something like this is squarely in the center of my nect car purchase plans. I too have been keeping a VERY close eye on Palatov Motorsports (maybe I can help facilitate a MotoIQ test of the D1 or D4 (or D2) when the time comes).
This is the first I'm reading about the 999 Motorsports offering and I love it!

While the brake and tire budges might slightly favor the Palatov cars, like Mike said the motorcycle engine in the D4 or the Hartley V8 in the D1 are going to swing things heavily in 999 Motorsports's favor. Add the cost of dealing with a motorcycle chain (two in the AWD versions) to the Palatov stuff and it seems like a no-brainer. However the price of the D4 in RWD trim is slated to undercut the 999 Motorsport offering by something like $25k which is nothing to ignore.

The plans for the folding trailer which would allow easy towing by even A-segment hatchbacks and the fact that you may be able to store a Palatov car and trailer in your garage taking up no more footprint than a row of high school lockers might make up for what it lacks in engine/chain longevity. Maybe...

i don't think it is a no brainer at all, what i do think is it is prime for a side by side comparison.

i agree the Hartley V8 is a big detractor for the D1, but i think the goal of the D1 was to go GT3 trolling on track days. Who wouldn't want to walk by a cup car in one of those tiny little things.

As for the regular motorcycle engine in the D4, as was proven in the blog at dpcars.net it would not cost that much to source one, even if you had to source the whole bike and then part it out on kijiji or ebay. yes it is more effort and may detract some, to some gear heads out there is it par for the course. i have bought several vehicles for one major key component and parted out the rest.

maybe MotoIQ could do a side by side comparison of various purpose built track day specials. id like to see the Supersport, one of the Palatov cars, a lotus seven based racer as well as maybe even a GT3 Cup car. and not just comparisons based on performance but compare them all based on costs, support requirements, storage etc.

i am certain from the comments and articles that i have read on this site that there are more than quite a few gentlemen racers (in my books that is anyone that isn't paid to race) with the purchasing power to afford a dedicated track day vehicle.

We'd love to participate in a trackday car comparison, or just a normal test. The 999 car looks like it would be a fun one to chase! It's great to see the dedicated trackday genre expanding.

FWIW the D4 is already faster than a GT3 Cup - same driver (BJ Zacharias), same track, same day - just check out our blogs on www.dpcars.net/dp4/. With 24 full trackdays so far (almost 5,000 track miles) we haven't had any engine issues yet. The car has been offroaded more than once and drove to the pits every time. It's more robust than it looks! The D1 is in a whole different league entirely. The Hartley engine is amazing and it's very easy to drive for something with 1,000 hp/ton. Don't judge bike and bike-based engine reliability by what Radical/Powertec are doing.

Until July 8 all our efforts are on our Pikes Peak quest (www.palatov.com/pikespeak/) but after that we're open for tests, comparisons, etc. I don't know if we'll be able to do the Ultimate Track Car Challenge due to logistics (too soon after Pikes Peak and on the opposite coast from us) but we're considering it.

I am pretty sure the Palatov car would be faster but the 999 car is designed for low operating costs and ease of servive first.

It would awesome to see the differences between this motor and the radical which is so so on robustness.

Dennis we would love to take a closer look at your car. We love the idea of affordable purpose built race cars!

Please get back to us after Pikes Peak!

Mike, we've found that with downforce cars like the 999 and ours the driver makes the biggest difference in how fast the car is. It takes a while to recalibrate yourself to the corner entry speeds that the car is capable of, and some people (myself for example) never get to 100% but can still have lots of fun at 80% and still blow away all the 'normal' cars :)

So when a couple cars like our show up at an event it isn't obvious which is going to be the fastest - driver makes all the difference. Which is part of the fun!

It's interesting to see different approaches to what constitutes a 'perfect' track car and i'm glad that some good choices are becoming available to enthusiasts. The important thing is there is growing recognition that a dedicated track car ultimately makes sense. This is something that I've learned as I went though the whole 'track driver evolution' and that's why I designed the D4.

We'll be in touch after the race. Drop me an email when you have a chance so I have a direct contact.

Wow, i actually didnt expect you to post Dennis, I have been following your blog off and on from before you opened up the company and the D1 was the only one on your design table. I just wanted to say cheers for doing what you love to do and sticking with it.

I look forward to reading the opinions from the MotoIQ team, I think that they might be rather suprised regarding the operating costs and the ease of service. Well atleast based on what i have seen from the development blog.

Bring on a head to head comparison covering all aspects of the trackday special! let us not jump to any conclusions until a proper comparison with all the factors can be conducted.

Dennis I think you have my work email now so lets get together when we are little less busy. We are really interested in your car as well.