When cost and reliability is no concern, you can do truly crazy things...
> 2.0-liter boxer engine ... 670 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque
Those are V10 numbers coming from something the size you'd find in an econo-box.
Obviously unlike your Camry this thing is not going to do 300,000 KMs over its lifetime, and will be rebuilt frequently. This is the extreme end of the engineering tradeoff, and it's interesting to see what happens when the scale tips all the way over.
2 liters is hardly econobox, even without a turbo. A new honda civic sedan is 1.3 liters (NA). 2.0 is more typical for sedans imho. The 2.0 turbo in this biuld originally turned 250+ hp (wrx) which is well beyond econo anything.
That was a big thing with Japanese sports cars in general: proving more cylinders was a dead end and just extra weight. Pretty much all of the big JDM classics of the 90s and 2000s are 4-cyl (aside from Mazda's rotary engine cars) putting down 200-300hp range with favorable power/weight.
Heh, very true. These days most new cars have a 1.0-1.5 turbo (or hybrid) rather than a larger 2.0 NA. And even 20 years ago most European cars were around 1.5 or less because of their higher fuel prices and registration taxes.
I'm a bit spoiled with the beefy 2.5 in my Mazda... Though it's still about 480 HP less than this beast ;)
The Ridgeline and Maverick are actually quite large compared to a 90s Ranger. Yes, not everything needs to be as big as a modern half-ton, but everything has shifted towards huge.
Regardless of the capacity, the Ridgeline is not a small truck. There are no small trucks anymore. The Ranger and Colorado are not small trucks, they are mid size. Compare them to the pre-2019 Ranger, and the pre-2011 Colorados and S10s.
Sure, the Maverick is kinda small. But and does fine for most people, but it's not really built like a truck. For some reason, I can't handle this thing, because it's replaced real small trucks. It's just an Escape under the covers, and nobody considers the Escape to be a workhorse. Yet, I can give the Baja a pass, because it was honest in the fact that it's a car with a bit of a utility bed.
All of these trade bed space for seating space, and they're still larger than my stepdad's 1990s-era Sonoma. As a sibling comment pointed out, you can't carry 4x8 sheet goods easily in these.
Wouldn't you need to flag a sheet of plywood in the back of a Maverick? My old '06 Canyon doesn't require that and it's actually a smaller truck than the Maverick.
The current model year Santa Cruz and Maverick are roughly the same size as the Tacoma, and the Tacoma is now the same size as a Ford F-150 was in the 90s when the Ford Ranger came out as a successful small pickup and the Tacoma was sized the same as the Ford Ranger. The vehicle size bloat in the last 30 years has been insane.
Sure, but the OG Brat is a tiny truck by modern US standards. It's like the Miata of trucks.
Even my 01 Forester will look big parked next to the OG Brat. Despite looking diminutive next to most modern vehicles here in Cali... It's super annoying how big ~everything on the road has become.
The Ridgeline is closer to a 1/4 ton like a Tacoma or Ranger. I own one. It's great for what it is, fits my outdoor lifestyle well (towing a small travel trailer, a few mountain bikes, and a large cooler).
The Maverick, Santa Cruz, and the currently-vaporware Slate are much smaller.
Agreed, they aren't all huge, but they are all pretty big and the few that aren't huge sacrifice a lot of bed size.
I'm going through this now because I'm looking at upgrading from my ancient 2002 Tacoma Xtracab. Here's compared to 2025 models:
Vehicle Length Bed
---------------------------- -------- -----
2002 Toyota Tacoma (Xtracab) 202.9" 74.5"
2002 Toyota Tacoma (2Dr) 184.4" 74.5"
2025 Maverick 199.8" 54.4"
2025 Honda Ridgeline 210.2" 64.0"
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz 195.7" 52.1"
2025 Toyota Tacoma Xtracab 213.0" 73.5"
My Tacoma wasn't even the shortest you could buy back then and it's still shorter than half of the "small" trucks you can buy today. And unlike those, my truck has a full 6' bed. A Maverick is shorter than mine, but the bed is also nearly two feet shorter. I honestly don't see the point of a bed that's less than five feet long. At that point, it's just an SUV with a trunk that isn't weather-sealed.
Now, granted, it's not like you get nothing in return. These new vehicles (except the new Tacoma Xtracab) all have four doors and full-sized back seats. I can fit a kid in my jump seats but anyone older than that has a bad time. I'm sure they're safer for everyone in the truck too.
But if you really do want to prioritize bed size and still want a short vehicle, that option is just no longer well supported. I accept that my use case is probably a narrow one:
* Live in a dense city with a lot of parallel parking so don't want a long vehicle.
* Kayak fish a lot so want a long bed I can load a kayak in.
* Can get away with a two-seater because we can use my wife's car when there are passengers.
But it's definitely not as well served as it used to be. I'm probably going to end up with a short-bed Tacoma and rely on a bed extender to keep the kayak safe.
We used to travel with folks in the back bed in beach chairs. It was quite comfortable, and you could fit four in a small Toyota truck bed. We would face each other, and talk, and it's was a fun and social way to travel. Six adults in a short bed Toyota, with 2 in the cab.
With just two of us in the back, we'd have the chairs against the cab (like the Brat did). Riding backwards in a vehicle is surprisingly relaxing. You can't see the traffic ahead, so you have absolutely zero interest in where the car is going, how fast, how close, missing exits, etc. You're just cognitively out of that loop. Even as a normal passenger, even if we stay silent, we're all firing off those "back seat driver" neurons a bit.
But riding backwards, where it's all out of sight and out of mind, it's a noticeable reduction in that. On one trip, we're heading to the mountains, my friend and I in back of the truck. Suddenly, the truck is braking very hard. We, of course, have no idea what's happening. I said "Well, this is it, good knowing you." "Yup! You too!".
Obviously nothing happened, but it was a curious incident to say the least.
Why not? Jeeps are basically the same when you remove the top. The original Brat had a faux rollbar but you could integrate a real one into a new design.
personally I drive a 2 liter 4 banger as well with a turbo, fastest I've gone so far is 150mph, next car I'm trying to get is a supercharged Lotus Exige in orange
I know if you want speed it's cheap with a Corvette C6
Unless you would be planning to keep it at a race track, you would not want to own a car like this. It would almost certainly be miserable to drive at legal speeds. That 2.0L engine isn't going to make any useful power below 5-6k RPM. Keeping a turbo like that spooled for any meaningful duration is guaranteed to get you pulled over by the police.
It is more than the speed potential. This thing is very likely not capable of running pump gas, and has to be running very rich. The cost per mile, just in fuel, would be insane. Also, good luck passing any sort of emissions controls for road use.
Premade as in have someone built it for you?
Well, the same way they did it. You offer up a load of money to a reputable build shop and come back in about 2-5 years depending on how busy they are.
Nearly impossible. For the same price and effort, you can probably get a high end Porsche 911 or similar which will be way more practical.
The next level up would be to get a modified car from a company that has very strong ties to the manufacturer, such as Ruf with Porsche, Roush or Saleen with Ford Mustangs, etc.
Trust me either of those options will be more than anyone but the 1% top skilled or thrill seeking individuals can handle.
You don’t- without that knowledge you would not know what to pay someone to build and why. It’s also going to be extremely complex and unreliable, and likely not street drivable or street legal.
Step 1: Get ~$250k+ in cash for the initial build.
Step 2: Start learning. If you don't know how to evaluate the work of your builder you may have a few false starts finding someone who can actually do it, which will cost you even more time and money.
Step 3: Learn some more. Owning a vehicle like this is a constant development effort. The work will never be "done" so unless you have a mechanic on retainer you will be working on it constantly.
In short, unless you have like a million dollars to spend on a toy and staff to keep it running you'll have to shoulder at least some of the effort.
The best way with finite money is racecarsdirect or some other similar platform.
Cons are you're getting someone else's project.
Pros are they've already sunk stupid money into it.
You can get great cars on there if you have someone in the know to bounce deals off of.
The best way with infinite money is either some very high end small batch restomod or to even commission one of the large OEMesque motorsport shops to plan and build a one off. Smaller, specialized shops are also an option but the amount of people who're learning on customer vehicles is high and they'll be so hyped to get a large project they'll promise you the moon with entirely good intentions and then fail spectacularly.
Just to quantify it, most "restomods" start at $100K USD.
Decades ago I had a buddy that did something similar with a VW Bug that he did "on the cheap" doing almost all the work himself and things like paint through connections he had, I never talked price on it but it was at least $30K I'd bet and probably more like in the $50Ks, and took around a decade.
Honestly, just learn it like anything else. Understand the basic components of an internal combustion engine (block, crankshaft, rods, pistons, camshafts, cylinder heads, valves, intake and exhaust manifolds), the 4 cycles the engine goes through (intake, compression, power, and exhaust), how fuel delivery and ignition systems work. And then there are tons of resources on tuning and you can get the software for a laptop.
Then there is the building of the engine and understanding clearances for specific applications and RPM's, value train harmonics when thing start getting to crazy high revs like 9500.
Still very learnable but outside the scope of standard engine rebuilt stuff.
It isn't that simple. I've been learning to work on my own car over the last few years. I'm not even doing anything crazy just fixing up an older vehicle and modernising some parts of it (mainly interior).
I had to fix the wiper system. The wiper system you would think it wouldn't matter much whether the parts are aftermarket or not. I was very wrong, parts that even look almost identical may not work properly, due to differences in tolerances.
There is also different revisions of particular parts and it will become obsolete. You can lose an afternoon on the internet just doing that.
Then there is the tools. I've spent about a small fortune on tools. I have 3 torque wrenches, 3 sets of sockets, 3 sets of spanners and loads of weird specialist tools like special pliers. There are many jobs I can't do myself because they needs specialist knowledge to do properly e.g. gearboxes.
You have to be prepared to spend potentially years on it and huge amount of money, even on relatively simple projects.
There is a reason that a lot of guys get into old 4x4 pickups and do those up, because they are a known quantity and parts are readily available.
If you're starting from 0 that's probably a decade long commitment before you're able to start to execute a project like this.
There's a youtube series 'project binky' where a pair of professional car tuners rebuild a mini cooper and stuff a Celica engine in it. They already have all the skills, own a shop and all the tools and it still took them years.
You can't, unless you a Saudi billionaire. These things are completely custom, are hugely expensive (why they have sponsors all over them) and often they will have work lined up for literally years.
You also wouldn't want one. They cannot be driven on the road really as they aren't legal. They will also break a lot. Generally the more tuned a car is the more maintenance it needs.
If you are interested in cars, you are better getting an older vehicle and somewhere to work on it e.g. a garage and working on it as a hobby at the weekends. You will learn a lot more and can actually enjoy it.
You can have one built; you just call Vermont Sports Car lol.
Yes, price is a major factor.
No, you are completely incorrect on street legality; and way far from the truth lol
The basis of a WRC rally car is that it is indeed street legal; and is required to be driven on the public roads with a proper license plate in between the stages of the rally.
While I agree with your comment about learning more by doing the work yourself, you don't need to be a billionaire to acquire one of these. Yes, they are expensive. A typical pro-level WRC spec WRX STI rally car from Vermont SportsCar goes for about $600k. They are actually very reliable though. And thats a bargain compared to just about any modern hypercar.
Rally cars also must be street legal because they are driven on public roads between stages.
Readit News
> 2.0-liter boxer engine ... 670 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque
Those are V10 numbers coming from something the size you'd find in an econo-box.
Obviously unlike your Camry this thing is not going to do 300,000 KMs over its lifetime, and will be rebuilt frequently. This is the extreme end of the engineering tradeoff, and it's interesting to see what happens when the scale tips all the way over.
We've got locals pushing 1,200+ HP out of K24's in their civics.
Edit- though, its redline was about double this Brat's...
I'm a bit spoiled with the beefy 2.5 in my Mazda... Though it's still about 480 HP less than this beast ;)
For those who are underestimating just how advanced Vermont Sports Car is, this should open up your eyes.
https://youtu.be/5GklA8AXQvU?si=9pZwanLVpbVw_cWq
Pickup trucks are great, but they're only available in "behemoth" size in the US.
Not all trucks are 1/4 or 1/2 ton in the USA.
There's things like the Honda Ridgeline, Hyundai Santa Cruze, and the Ford Maverick
Subaru had the Baja for a little white but they only sold a couple thousand per year.
Sure, the Maverick is kinda small. But and does fine for most people, but it's not really built like a truck. For some reason, I can't handle this thing, because it's replaced real small trucks. It's just an Escape under the covers, and nobody considers the Escape to be a workhorse. Yet, I can give the Baja a pass, because it was honest in the fact that it's a car with a bit of a utility bed.
Even my 01 Forester will look big parked next to the OG Brat. Despite looking diminutive next to most modern vehicles here in Cali... It's super annoying how big ~everything on the road has become.
The Maverick, Santa Cruz, and the currently-vaporware Slate are much smaller.
I'm going through this now because I'm looking at upgrading from my ancient 2002 Tacoma Xtracab. Here's compared to 2025 models:
My Tacoma wasn't even the shortest you could buy back then and it's still shorter than half of the "small" trucks you can buy today. And unlike those, my truck has a full 6' bed. A Maverick is shorter than mine, but the bed is also nearly two feet shorter. I honestly don't see the point of a bed that's less than five feet long. At that point, it's just an SUV with a trunk that isn't weather-sealed.Now, granted, it's not like you get nothing in return. These new vehicles (except the new Tacoma Xtracab) all have four doors and full-sized back seats. I can fit a kid in my jump seats but anyone older than that has a bad time. I'm sure they're safer for everyone in the truck too.
But if you really do want to prioritize bed size and still want a short vehicle, that option is just no longer well supported. I accept that my use case is probably a narrow one:
* Live in a dense city with a lot of parallel parking so don't want a long vehicle.
* Kayak fish a lot so want a long bed I can load a kayak in.
* Can get away with a two-seater because we can use my wife's car when there are passengers.
But it's definitely not as well served as it used to be. I'm probably going to end up with a short-bed Tacoma and rely on a bed extender to keep the kayak safe.
https://www.telotrucks.com/
It answers the question, what if Framework made cars?
https://sherpaec.com/products/olympus (no affiliation)
With just two of us in the back, we'd have the chairs against the cab (like the Brat did). Riding backwards in a vehicle is surprisingly relaxing. You can't see the traffic ahead, so you have absolutely zero interest in where the car is going, how fast, how close, missing exits, etc. You're just cognitively out of that loop. Even as a normal passenger, even if we stay silent, we're all firing off those "back seat driver" neurons a bit.
But riding backwards, where it's all out of sight and out of mind, it's a noticeable reduction in that. On one trip, we're heading to the mountains, my friend and I in back of the truck. Suddenly, the truck is braking very hard. We, of course, have no idea what's happening. I said "Well, this is it, good knowing you." "Yup! You too!".
Obviously nothing happened, but it was a curious incident to say the least.
active aero seems silly on a truck-design but ehh
regarding cars I did enjoy this video (comparing C8, GT3, GTD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7tDXLyLVo
admittedly not much of a track guy currently
personally I drive a 2 liter 4 banger as well with a turbo, fastest I've gone so far is 150mph, next car I'm trying to get is a supercharged Lotus Exige in orange
I know if you want speed it's cheap with a Corvette C6
The next level up would be to get a modified car from a company that has very strong ties to the manufacturer, such as Ruf with Porsche, Roush or Saleen with Ford Mustangs, etc.
Trust me either of those options will be more than anyone but the 1% top skilled or thrill seeking individuals can handle.
They build all the fast Subarus for everyone; Travis Prastana, Bucky Lasik, Ken Block, Lia Block.
The Huckster, the Project Midnight; all them too.
https://vtcar.com/
Step 2: Start learning. If you don't know how to evaluate the work of your builder you may have a few false starts finding someone who can actually do it, which will cost you even more time and money.
Step 3: Learn some more. Owning a vehicle like this is a constant development effort. The work will never be "done" so unless you have a mechanic on retainer you will be working on it constantly.
In short, unless you have like a million dollars to spend on a toy and staff to keep it running you'll have to shoulder at least some of the effort.
Cons are you're getting someone else's project.
Pros are they've already sunk stupid money into it.
You can get great cars on there if you have someone in the know to bounce deals off of.
The best way with infinite money is either some very high end small batch restomod or to even commission one of the large OEMesque motorsport shops to plan and build a one off. Smaller, specialized shops are also an option but the amount of people who're learning on customer vehicles is high and they'll be so hyped to get a large project they'll promise you the moon with entirely good intentions and then fail spectacularly.
I'm just going to pull the band-aid off, you're probably not the target audience for a drag-race sleeper rig.
If he wants to believe he's the target demo for a car that would immediately put him into a wall, let him!
Decades ago I had a buddy that did something similar with a VW Bug that he did "on the cheap" doing almost all the work himself and things like paint through connections he had, I never talked price on it but it was at least $30K I'd bet and probably more like in the $50Ks, and took around a decade.
Still very learnable but outside the scope of standard engine rebuilt stuff.
I had to fix the wiper system. The wiper system you would think it wouldn't matter much whether the parts are aftermarket or not. I was very wrong, parts that even look almost identical may not work properly, due to differences in tolerances.
There is also different revisions of particular parts and it will become obsolete. You can lose an afternoon on the internet just doing that.
Then there is the tools. I've spent about a small fortune on tools. I have 3 torque wrenches, 3 sets of sockets, 3 sets of spanners and loads of weird specialist tools like special pliers. There are many jobs I can't do myself because they needs specialist knowledge to do properly e.g. gearboxes.
You have to be prepared to spend potentially years on it and huge amount of money, even on relatively simple projects.
There is a reason that a lot of guys get into old 4x4 pickups and do those up, because they are a known quantity and parts are readily available.
If you're starting from 0 that's probably a decade long commitment before you're able to start to execute a project like this. There's a youtube series 'project binky' where a pair of professional car tuners rebuild a mini cooper and stuff a Celica engine in it. They already have all the skills, own a shop and all the tools and it still took them years.
You also wouldn't want one. They cannot be driven on the road really as they aren't legal. They will also break a lot. Generally the more tuned a car is the more maintenance it needs.
If you are interested in cars, you are better getting an older vehicle and somewhere to work on it e.g. a garage and working on it as a hobby at the weekends. You will learn a lot more and can actually enjoy it.
Yes, price is a major factor.
No, you are completely incorrect on street legality; and way far from the truth lol
The basis of a WRC rally car is that it is indeed street legal; and is required to be driven on the public roads with a proper license plate in between the stages of the rally.
Rally cars also must be street legal because they are driven on public roads between stages.