Radical Sportscars today announces its intention to build the SR9 LMP2 car for the 2006 season: this will be the latest in the company's line of highly cost effective prototypes.

"As a statement of our intent, we have hired Peter Elleray as a consultant to oversee the design of the SR9, working alongside our own Chief Engineer Nick Walford," commented Radical co-founder Mick Hyde. "Peter was responsible for the Le Mans Bentleys, but we're going to utilise his design skills in a rather more cost-effective way for this project."

A key feature of the SR9 will be its price.

"Our philosophy is to expend as much effort on engineering a car to a price as we do on the car's performance," continues Mick Hyde. "The rolling chassis will cost ?120,000 ($228,000) to ?130,000 ($247,000), with the engine and ancillaries costing another ?30,000 ($57,000). We believe this will bring a lot more racers into prototype racing - people who previously considered it too expensive."

"The monocoque will be of an aluminium-carbon composite construction," explains Peter Elleray. "We believe that we can build an LMP2 car within the 750kg minimum weight, utilising this type of cost effective construction. The SR9 is obviously a completely different type of engineering challenge to designing an overall Le Mans winner, but it is one that is hugely rewarding and I'm very much enjoying working with the Radical team."

The power unit will be Radical's own Powertec RPD Macroblock V8, as used (as the RPA) in the SR8, but enlarged to 3 litres. With a restrictor break for a smaller engine than the 3.4 litre limit, power will be a highly competitive 525bhp @ 11,350 rpm.

There are a number of 'Radical-family' design cues for the SR9, but some of the car's features may look familiar from elsewhere. The air intakes have a Bentley look about them, while the carbon cockpit fairing is reminiscent of the Ferrari 333SP. As with all conventional carbon monocoque cars the footbox is raised to best utilise the front-end, under-car airflow.

"We produce our own engines, transaxles, brakes and suspension in partnership with key suppliers and manufacturer, fabricated items, machined components and composites in-house," comments Mick Hyde. "This is the key to our system of producing competitive cars at a realistic price."

The company already has 18 distributors around the world: key distributors will be appointed to head-up the Radical attack on both the ALMS and LMES.

"We're announcing this project at Sebring because we can see the potential of this car in the ALMS, as well as in Europe," explains Mick Hyde. "It's going to be highly competitive, but we believe that the price of the car will be its unique selling point. We expect to sell cars to privateers moving up from GT racing and from smaller prototypes, while we envisage this car being the ideal starting point for young chargers who want to become the next Allan McNish. We want to create a whole new market for sports prototypes."

Customers who wish to go 'all the way' to Le Mans have the option to upgrade the standard iron discs to carbon items, while alternative transaxles can be fitted instead of the Powertec RQ2 six-speed, which is supplied as standard. There is also the option to fit an Engine Developments or Nicholson-McLaren engine.

Mick Hyde concludes, "Daniel Perdrix at the ACO has seen our plans, and recognises the value of this LMP2 project. The design of the SR9 is not going to be revolutionarily, but the commercial thinking behind the project is. We've achieved all our targets with our current models; now we're going to do it with this one."

"We're planning on having the first car ready to be shaken down in the Spring of 2006."