Total Kitcar October 2004

Upward Spiral - MNR VortX RT+

A recent energetic arrival to the kitcar scene is MNR Ltd run by father and son team Chris and Marc Nordon. Marc certainly has a performance pedigree having been involved in motor racing since 1988 when he was karting alongside a certain Jensen Button before progressing through the ranks and into the rarefied atmosphere of the British Touring Car championship in 2000 when he raced a Nissan Primera for Nissan GB on a semi-works basis. By late 2000 he formed Marc Nordon Racing with his dad Chris, when they prepared and hired out racecars, mostly Renault Clios. From this experience and their engineering background it seemed like a logical step to combine racing and a love for fast cars, which in late 2003 resulted in them starting work on their VortX Lotus Seven-inspired range. Since making their debut at their local Great Northern kitcar show at Harrogate in August they’ve not really had time to catch their breath and an embarrassing amount of orders have come flooding in.

What could have easily been just another clone of the LSIS style car was from the outset designed to be something a little more sophisticated and particular emphasis has been put on under the skin areas such as the chassis and suspension and Marc’s experience in race cars including numerous highs and lows provided a base on which to form their own car, and with the chassis construction he’s very much followed the ACB Chapman philosophy of 'to increase speed you have to decrease weight' and the MNR spaceframe constructed from 18-gauge steel, incorporates a deformable structure including side impact protection.

MNR VortX RT

Out back there’s similar thought processes gone into the set up and there’s another crumple impact zone that, god forbid, will help the survival chances of the occupants in a big biff, a dangerous occurrence in such a delicate type of car, so extra consideration from the manufacturer in this instance is a welcome thing.

The styling of the car in not that dissimilar to its rivals, not surprising given the sector it competes in, but there are several distinctive areas such as the scuttle area and slightly curved cockpit sides that set it apart and give it an individual identity. One thing that was immediately apparent was the quality of the GRP, which is first class and the work of Bob Holmes of Vimar Composites near Harrogate.

MNR Vortx RT+

While Marc and Chris were developing their car they started selling LSIS components from their website as well as undertaking build work for other manufacturer’s kits and their large farm-based workshops are kept busy with this type of work in addition to their own kits.

Their VortX range is split into three distinct models and starts with the RT, which is aimed primarily at road use but can easily be used for trackdays, and for your £2450 inc VAT you get the MNR spaceframe chassis primed and finished in black and it comes fitted with all brackets, a standard roll bar with rear stays, fitted floorpans, Polybushed lower wishbones in oval tube (top wishbones are round tube), 10-piece GRP body kit, which comes in either blue, black, orange or yellow and various steering and suspension components including Pro-Tech dampers as well as many other sundry items. A comprehensive kit for the price. For the money the quality is top notch and you get a lot of components that most others don't supply as standard and it’s worth pointing that there’s full independent rear suspension rather than a live rear axle and even for a comparative budget car the roll bar is FIA-approved. Marc reckons that £5500 is a realistic price to get a self-built RT on the road.

Purposeful interior of RT+

Next up comes the RT+ model, but more on that in a moment as they are also rather interestingly also finding time to ready their flagship Super model, which will feature a fully round tube chassis made from highest grade T45 material and fully rose jointed suspension. I think the message here is that if you’ve been impressed with their offerings so far “You really ain’t seen nuthin’ yet”!

We recently had the chance to nab first drive of their VortX RT+ model, which is a road-legal racer stripped to the bone and weighing in at a mind boggling 412kg and it’s this model that you can expect to see out next season in the 750MC RGB Championship, after several drivers of established models have decided to change to the MNR product, and this I think is indicative of the engineering prowess on offer here as racers in the main know the difference between ‘pig-iron’ and CDS, and appreciate these sort of differences.

Bespoke components of high quality

At our private test venue Marc goes out first to warm things up a little and we watch intently as the Fireblade-powered demonstrator is put through its paces. Most of us mere-mortal drivers feeling disgusted at the ease in which he is instantly quicker than the rest of us from the get-go, in that special way special driver’s have. The RT+ appears to corner flat with very little bodyroll and I can’t wait for my turn behind the wheel. As my ‘big-bear’ frame negotiates the full roll cage and I do my best gymnast asymmetric bars impression, I find that there’s actually a lot of space within the cockpit and as I guess you’d expect from a car designed by a racer there’s very little un-necessary tackle here, just the essentials. The steering wheel is set back towards the driver a la BTCC cars unsurprisingly and the long gearstick is right where you need a sequential changer to be. As the ‘blade barks into life the bespoke exhaust emits a beefy sound. Another thing that racer’s seem good at is positioning pedals properly. Graham Hathaway’s Global GT Light is set up just so, as is the VortX and it’s a nice change from some rivals where you have to sit in a gorilla like fashion with the clutch foot waving around like a poplar in a hurricane. Operation of the clutch is most un-bike-like in action and there’s no on/off malarkey’s here. As I edge out onto the circuit the fun is about to begin…

Clearly this car has been set up by people who know what they are doing and stability is an instant sensation, as is the stiffness of that spaceframe, and this thing feels rock solid as I tip into the first hairpin. As speed and confidence builds it’s apparent to me, an experienced but middling driver, built for comfort rather than pace, that you can take a few liberties with the VortX RT+ and get away with them, and I find the handling pretty neutral and although the tail can be provoked, it really is a simple matter of bringing it all together again and that’s a reassuring trait. I found that to make best use of the bike’s top end spitefulness you really need to drop down through the gears for the hairpins at either end to get the most pull from the 893cc unit. This is the sort of car that could quite easily be driven to a trackday, thrashed all day and then driven home again and I liked the feeling of being able to go progressively faster with each subsequent lap and the VortX is a machine that rewards positive inputs and is a real driver’s machine.

Back in the pit area I take a closer look at the delicate yet immensely strong looking spaceframe and the bespoke suspension components, and Marc tells me about their new tie-up with Bruce Irving’s Raceleda operation, makers of jewel-like replacement uprights and the like for Sierra, Cortina and Mk2 Escort and when you get under the skin of the VortX and really see what makes it tick, the quality becomes very apparent.

The RT+ package costs £3500 inc VAT, which is just over £1000 more than the standard RT, but the chassis is different and the suspension is rose-jointed throughout, and Marc estimates that £8000 should see a good example ready to roll, which again represents pretty good value for money in my book.

This is one new arrival that has hit the ground running and looks like continuing to flourish. Definitely worth adding to your shortlist of contenders in the LSIS sector.

Track And Race Cars Magazine Nov 2004

MNR VORTX RT+

With a race pedigree and a passion to go quicker than the rest, Marc Nordon Racing and its new Vortx have some very strong roots, as Keith Wood found out.

When a team competes in top championships like the MGF Cup and Renault Clio Cup, not to mention the British Touring Car Championship, there will come a point where you cant go any further. As a team manager you could make the decision to head upwards 10 the European Touring Car scene but the money needed is phenomenal. Marc Nordon Racing, after its last year in the BTCC, was facing this decision but entered into the world of producing Lotus Seven-inspired kits.

It’s an odd choice but with all the equipment left over from the race days it was a logical move, especially as Marc himself thought there was a big market for a very well built but quick track day/race car. ‘We initially looked into building kit cars for customers,” explained Chris Nordon, Marc’s father, “but soon discovered the kits we were being supplied with were very difficult to work with. Simple things like the body’ just didn’t match up to the chassis,

So with this in mind Marc and Chris saw an opportunity to build their own kits and, using their skills learnt from the race track, create a well constructed but ultimately quick Lotus Seven-inspired package. This was around August this year and, amazingly, in such a short time a demo car has been produced, a chassis given away as a prize and an order for 12 cars been placed from a race school in Spain. So what’s all the hype?

To me, another Lotus Seven-inspired car is tiresome but Marc strongly believes his is somewhat different to the average kit car and plans to compete in the 750 Motor Club Road-Going Bike Championship to show why. Get under the skin of the MNR Vortx+ we tested, at our rather cold and damp test track, and I could tell there was certainly some clever engineering skills used.

You may not think it’s all that great but the reinforced rear of the chassis caught my attention. Rather than an unprotected fuel cell the MNR Vortx+ has a clever cage around the tank and whole rear structure, so any rear-end shunts have been carefully thought about. The Vortx also boasts a tidy side-impact protection bracing, for both the driver and passenger, who coincidentally have plenty of room in the spacious cockpit. If you can get into the cockpit, that is.

The car we tested had a complex full race roll-cage, which may look heavy duty but is actually made from T45 tubing so it’s just as light as a standard roll-over hoop made from CDS. Its a nice-looking cage and again all produced in-house at MNR’s factory. Unless you’re particularly unfit, like Luke. you may find the climbing frame a little tricky to get into and out of, I found it easier to drop in from above — although crawling in from the side was also an option.

Sitting in the driver’s seat and there’s not an awful lot to keep you preoccupied other than the digi-dash which stores all necessary information such as revs, water temperature and oil pressure. There’s also a gear indicator which, although in the early stages of development, works really well under full stress. When trundling around it doesn’t inform you correctly what gear you’re in... hang on though, how many times will you be driving Miss Daisy?

The particular car l drove had a fettled Honda Fireblade engine which in turn means 130bhp on tap and a lovely sequential ‘box to go with it. I know there are doubters out there who dislike bike- engined cars but you can’t knock the value for money factor; it’s by far one of the cheapest solutions of getting reasonable power and with a sequential gearbox to boot. Sure, reliability may not be as great as a bulletproof Duratec Engine, but then again you’re not paying Duratec money in the first place.

Later models will have the option of a Vauxhall twin cam or any type of engine you can shoehorn into the engine bay, which is probably whatever you fancied. The chassis has been well developed to adopt most engines but this isn’t the only attractive point on the car, as there’s plenty of adjustability with the VortX RT+, This includes the brake bias system, suspension, rear tracking and camber set up options, all available to suit every individual. Why’s that so good? After taking part in a few track days this year I’ve been lucky to get behind the wheel of a car or two for owners who asked for a second opinion on how their pride and joy handled. I was intrigued to see how, after a little input, the owners would then adjust the car to improve on its weak point.

I now fully appreciate that the need of track-dayers is not just to pay the money and accept that the car understeers into slow corners. Which makes the VortX a bit tasty because the setup potential is endless. Especially if you really went to town on your build by fitting trick remote reservoir damping and even your own anti-roll bar system.

It’s safe to say the RT+ I drove was more than capable of handling itself in its current guise, which isn’t bad going — especially as its first ever test was just a few weeks before I sampled the handling myself. It was amazing because what I was basically driving hadn’t really been through the basic testing procedure, although it had managed to complete nearly 200 taps at Donnington without killing the tyres.

Marc set the car up with the Ackerman steering geometry which those of you into karts will know fairly well. If you don’t then it’s a basic concept which makes the inside wheel turn 1/10th of a degree more than the outside wheel into a corner. So, effectively, its causing toe- out into the curves. It’s an interesting setup on a car and rather odd when you look at the car head on with lock applied.

Obviously a back-to-back test with a standard AT+ with and without Ackerman would be the ideal scenario to test this design but on the day ii seemed to work rather well, giving the driver plenty of turn in. I was driving the car in odd conditions where there were wet and dry patches all over the circuit but it seemed to handle the opposite lock moments rather well.

Overall though, the car handled itself well around our pretty large circuit layout and, though it lacked a little bit of pace down our back straight, it still recorded a rather good wet time of 1 m30,6Osecs. I believe there’s more time to come from the Vortx RT+ and the fact I didn’t master it in my short time behind the wheel was just another attraction.

In this guise, with this engine, it’s perfect for those wanting a Lotus Seven- inspired track car which isn’t too physical and ultimately relatively easy to handle on a track day. For those a little more confident behind the wheel the option list is endless and MNR will be happy to build a car to your specification. Just give the guys a call and see for yourself, you’ll be suitably impressed