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New Member
Posts: 1 Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2019 10:37 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 11:57 am
Full disclosure, I am the owner of RUSH Auto Works Inc, RAW, and I am also the principle engineer behind the design and development of the RUSH SR-1, I have been living and breathing this project since I launched it, 1/1/2018 and it arrives with significant sacrifice having been made by my wife and son over this time. So don’t expect too much impartiality, Ha!
Firstly, I respect this is your Forum, for your cars the SRF. I have NOT come here to promote the SR-1. I did not start this thread, but I will try and answer questions or correct any misinformation. I will not engage in discussion of the SCCA or comparisons to the SRF. I would not be right in this Forum. The SCCA is the most successful sports car association in the world and the SRF one of the most successful single make platforms to have existed. The RUSH SR-1 has NOT been developed to pull drivers away from SRF or indeed to attempt to harm SCCA or SCCA enterprises in any manner. Frankly I am honored and humbled that a group of you have taken to discussing what we have done, in this Forum!
Our sport, worldwide, and at all levels is struggling. It is having a hard time attracting new young drivers in any significant numbers and certainly costs have escalated to a point that it is very hard for anyone in normal income brackets to get into our sport and enjoy a level of performance much beyond a SM!
The RUSH SR-1 was developed with the express objective to try and change this, to bring more people into our sport, Greg’s comment on the paddle shifter plays right into that for our target. A lofty goal perhaps but certainly one that benefits us all and the sport as a whole, if we are successful. We gave ourselves a list of 10 key attributes / elements that we believe we needed in the platform to give us a chance of attaining this goal. Price and Performance were at the top of this list!
It was obvious even before the launch of this project that we could not follow a typical path of development and expect to yield a significantly lower cost product with a higher level of performance. Conventionally most race car developments, at least at the lower end, involve the development of a chassis, suspension and body. All the ancillary components are typically sourced from specialty companies making them as their own product, with their own profit built into them! Yes, these builders get OEM discounts from these suppliers, but the OEM price is still above their cost! The builder needs to make a profit on these items too, so the supply chain in many cases, has several layers of profit built in. To achieve our goals, we knew from the outset that we would need to directly manufacture as much of the car as possible to keep this multi-level mark up to a minimum. We had firsthand experience with this as the Importer of the ALPHA Kart chassis. The price of a chassis was around $ 5,300 by the time it was in a customer’s hand. The factory's in Europe that produced them, together had a cost of under $1,200!
To achieve this, we knew going in that we were taking on a huge project from an engineering and development stance. We would be designing and engineering far more of the car than most typical chassis builders. We would indeed be designing a production version akin to the large manufacturers in the powersport segment! As a result, there is a rather large list of parts that we build ourselves, Yes, we build the chassis, the body, the uprights and the control arms as most would do. But we also build our own shock absorber, steering rack, limited slip differential, steering column including our own U-Joints, half shafts, wiring loom, seat mounts, brake calipers and discs and yes even our own pedal box, paddle shift hardware and GCU electronics card and firmware! It was a huge undertaking, a lot of work and a large investment! It was necessary to deliver the product we wanted at the price point we consider necessary and allow us to make some profit doing it!
I am sure most of you have seen the prototype. The first production run of 20 cars has been launched with current commitments for over 50% of these already in hand. This run will start rolling out late November! We are planning a second run that will be completed for customers wanting to participate in our inaugural series next year. The chassis is constructed primarily from 4130 CrMo square section steel. There is only one company that carries stock in the USA and list price is above $24 / ft! To cut this cost, we ordered 3 Tons of material direct from the mil, that’s their min order. Its enough for 65 chassis! We are having all of the material CNC laser cut and coped into tubing “kits” for the car before it arrives which again cuts very significant time in the fabrication of the chassis. To be clear, we have NOT launched 65 cars. We have launched 20 and, in some instances, parts for 50 cars to keep manufacturing costs down.
There have been several changes made during prototype development. Some have increased our costs slightly. The car now includes ATL, FT-3 Fuel Cells and also a Kirkey full containment seat. Safety upgrades that we considered necessary. The engine platform has also changed to a Suzuki GSX S1000 derived plant that is modified and sealed.
As far as costs go the base car is $ 28,995. A price point we plan to keep for several years as frankly we believe it is a necessary element for our success. When optioned out with Aim Data and the FIA Rain Brake light system the price escalates to $ 31,395. One RP mentions that he doubts there is any way to keep it sub $ 30k with these options plus extra wheels tires and setup equipment. You are right it is nearer $ 35K with all of those additional items, but is it a real expectation to get all of that in a new car for under $ 30K???? The $ 3k Rebate we are offering however to a competitor who attends all of our 2020 events will help to offset about 50% of those additional costs!
We expect engine life to be in the range of 3 years racing and current costs to freshen the engine are under $ 3k including all typical components. Obviously an abused or damaged engine will have higher repair costs.
So, I will end this here. I am happy to address any questions, please ask! Again, I thank you for having used your Forum to discuss our product and thank you for your interest. We still have a long way to go, but our success will only be because of people like you with a passion for our sport!
David Hosie President RUSH Auto Works Inc
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