Kit cars an enjoyable but expensive hobby

By Thomas Geiger Jul 14, 2011, 4:06 GMT

Mainz, Germany - Kit cars have long been a popular hobby for car enthusiasts, who purchase different kits of the same vehicle from a manufacturer and assemble the vehicle themselves.

The hobby is a major step up from the usual tasks car owners trust themselves capable of tackling on their vehicle such as fixing a puncture or changing the oil.

'The concept has a history going back almost a century,' says German car designer Bernd Michalak, who still harks back to the glory days of car kits. 'The idea originated in Great Britain as a result of a tax loophole.'

Newly assembled vehicles were subject to a high 'purchase tax' while individual components could be bought almost tax free. More and more car drivers began assembling their own vehicles with over 300 companies offering components, according to Michalak.

The popularity of assembling your own car soon spread beyond England, especially among sports car lovers, who, for example, have over the years created countless versions of the Lotus Seven in workshops across the globe.

However, registering kit cars can be problematic. In Germany for example the registration process can sometimes cost as much 10,000 euros (14,500 dollars) although a law introduced two years ago whereby producers can deliver pre-approved components could improve the situation slightly.

Many companies and dealers have reacted to the high cost of registering kit cars by leaving the business altogether. 'We now only sell assembled vehicles,' explains Robert Burkhardt of RCB-Fahrzeug GmbH, whose company developed a Lotus Super Seven 'Hardcore Roadster.'

Burkhardt points out that if a customer paid 39,900 euros for the components on his website, a 10-per-cent surcharge would have to be calculated into the final price for the finished car.

Even the famous British Caterham Cars company now almost exclusively sells assembled vehicles into the German market, at prices ranging from between 30,000 and 60,000 euros.

Component importer Kurt Hoffmann still delivers kit cars to his customers as the price usually ends up being around 3,000 euros less than the assembled versions. However, Hoffmann points out that the assembly of a kit car requires around 100 hours and no little skill.

Kit cars don't always have to be based on, for example, the Lotus Super Seven, the AC Cobra or the Ford GT40, as evidenced by Michalak's C7 design.

Michalak's modern two-seat roadster is technically based on the Smart car and the German launched the model because he felt that, in an era of booming DIY in the home, the time was right for a new car that people could assemble themselves.

Michalak has sold nearly 30 roadsters to date at cost of approximately 15,000 euros per vehicle. The assembly can be completed within a couple of weeks and doesn't require welding equipment or a lifting platform. 'Anyone who can work with screws and wrenches will have no problem with the C7,' he says.

The world's major car manufacturers have, for the most part, kept out of the kit car market with the closest customers get to car assembly being a guided tour of a plant. Chevrolet is an exception with the American carmaker offering its customers what it calls an 'Engine Build Experience' for Corvettes.

'Anyone who buys a Corvette Grand Sport, Z06 or a ZR1 from us can assemble the engine themselves,' says Carl Pickelman of the Performance Build Centre in Wixom, near Detroit.

An eight cylinder engine is made up of 100 parts and 250 screws, and takes around five hours to assemble if guided by a professional like Rick McBride, who is enjoying his new teaching role. 'When you've assembled around 4,000 eight-cylinder engines like I have then it's a nice distraction,' he jokes.