Sneaking into the pack of small but insanely fast sports cars is the Brooke Double R. It was released a while ago, but a couple of seasoned engineers updated and improved it, and this beautiful little car is now in production. You get tremendous acceleration and cornering for your money.
The performance is sensational and depends on the power you want. The most powerful Brooke Double R, 300bhp, has a claimed 0-60mph time of 3.2 seconds, while 260bhp will get you to 60mph in under 4 seconds, and all the excitement that performance brings. To combine it you will need a Noble M400 or a Porsche 911 Turbo.
It is clear that the Brooke Double R is a real firecracker. The fact that the top speed is just 155mph, the same speed many supercars are electronically limited to, isn’t the point. It’s acceleration, braking and cornering that provide the true thrill of driving fast, and you’ll get it here.
Most of these open-wheelers are front-engined, but the Brooke Double R has a mid-mounted 2.3-litre Ford Cosworth engine, developing 190, 260 or 300 bhp depending on your choice. It’s like a miniature version of a mid-engined race car, only a little wider to fit two people.
Optimal weight distribution
To get closer to ideal weight distribution, the engine is mounted forwards and backwards rather than transversely. With the engine mounted through the frame in unity with its transaxle, you get too much weight in the rear. On the other hand, with the engine in front of the transaxle, you get better weight distribution and a slimmer body, which is what the guys who designed the Brook Double R wanted.
five-speed transaxle
For this to work, they had to find a good transaxle at a realistic price. Brooke opted for a Renault five speed unit as a six would have cost much more. He may think a six-speed is mandatory these days, but this is not the case for highway use. With five well-chosen ratios, you can get the same performance as a six-speed, which often has too high gears in the top two or even three ratios.
The car is dressed in sleek, simple bodywork with a small wraparound windshield and bike-like fenders – it looks like a race car from the 1960s. The headlights are hidden and manually raised. All nice and simple.
Booth like a racer, too
The cabin is also simplicity itself, absolutely no frills on site! You sit behind a small Momo steering wheel, with a flattened lower rim section and a large rev counter nestled in an instrument binnacle to the side. The gear stick is on the opposite side of normal, like on those old race cars, which is on the right on right hand drive cars and vice versa.
There’s a neat pedal box with floor-mounted pedals, like in the best cars, and a simple molded seat.
You can have a very low windshield or a slightly higher one. Both are still low and there’s no wiper clearance; they are actually wind deflectors that you look over. Pick the lowest and you’ll want to wear a helmet at speeds over 75mph, twin headrests notwithstanding.
Cosworth-Ford up to 300 hp
In choosing a Cosworth-Ford engine, Brooke has focused on quality and ease of obtaining the necessary parts for service. Cosworth offer a range of tuned Ford engines, modified to give the durability needed for the power output, and as they are straight-four units they are compact.
The base model comes with 190bhp, then you can go to 260bhp at 7,500rpm with 200lb-ft (271lb-ft) of torque at 6,100rpm, or you can opt for top power with the 300bhp unit.
Suspension and steering are classic lines, with double wishbones front and rear, aerodynamic section because they need to slide through the air, with aluminum alloy suspension mounts. Coil springs and adjustable shock absorbers are installed at the front and rear.
Buy a Brooke Double R with 190bhp and you’ll spend around $50,000 (£27,995), but if you want a manic 300bhp version that will probably lose its license, you’ll have to shell out around $70,000 (£36,995). It will help if you live where there is a lot of sun and little rain!