Fancy a supercar without paying the super price tag? Cheryl Livingstone might have found the answer
Doug Seivwright has always been a fan of cars and even took part in Quarter Mile racing at an amateur level.
But when his son Harrison came along two years ago, his passion for all things motors took a back seat in order to spend time with him.
Lucky for him, however, an opportunity came along that allowed him to be able to return to his hobby.
Doug, 34, an offshore maintenance supervisor who lives in Aberdeen, bought an MK Indy Kit Car, a two-seater, Lotus 7 style open-top sports car, at the tail-end of last year from a colleague.
He first heard about the car back in 2007 when his friend Ross first bought it.
“I used to work with Ross a number of years ago on board the Tiffany Platform, he lives down near Falkirk and I went down to see it just after he bought it. I instantly loved the car,” Doug explained.
“He had just got it and then we sort of lost touch, we were both working offshore in different places and then by chance we met up again while we were both working on board the Murchison Platform in the North Sea.
“We had been working together for a year when he mentioned that he was selling the car because he wanted to buy a motorbike, and that’s how I ended up with it. When I first went to see it in 2007, I did say to him if you do ever come to sell the car to let me know.”
It was the uniqueness of the car that made the father of one take it on and, although he has only been able to use it a few times since buying it in October, he is already a fan.
He said: “It is completely different. It’s very low to the ground, there’s very little protection in it, and it’s got nothing fancy about it. It’s a really basic direct car and it’s great fun to drive. A real driving experience.”
The kit car was originally bought in 2002 and registered in 2003 so took around a year to build. It is a mix of kit car parts, parts from a Ford Sierra donor car and features a motorbike engine – a Honda Fireblade 929RR engine to be exact.
Although Doug said he would have liked to have built it himself, financially it made sense to buy it pre-built.
He said: “I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. You couldn’t build it for the same sort of price that I bought it for. My hobby with cars has taken a back seat over the past couple of years, my son is two now and I love to spend all my time with him and my wife. When Harrison came along I started buying sensible family cars for day-to-day use. The offer to buy the car came at a pretty convenient time.
“It’s a toy that you can keep in your garage and take out on good days in the summer and still have a practical car for day-to-day use. This year I’m planning to use it for some road trips and take it to Knockhill. One of my friend’s brothers takes part in the hill climbs and sprints so he’s trying to talk me into doing something like that. Hopefully, I can maybe take part in some in the future.
“Driving on a track is a great way to have fun and it’s a lot safer environment to enjoy a car like this. You can’t get the full benefit of it on a public road, a track is ideal. Having a kit car is also a great way of enjoying a performance car that’s relatively affordable to run. The performance you get from it is pretty similar to supercar performance. But you don’t have to spend supercar money.”
And it seems it’s not only Doug that is quite smitten with his new buy. His son Harrison is also quite taken with it.
“He’s obsessed with it just now,” Doug added. “He’s only two so can’t get out on the road in it but he likes to go out to the garage and sit in it and press the horn and the indicators and loves to hear the engine running.
“I definitely want to keep it and maybe even get a kit car to build myself in the future. Maybe when my son is a bit older, it’d be something nice to do with him but at the moment I just want to spend every minute with him.”
First Car? Ford Orion
Dream car? Nissan GT-R.