Glickenhaus SCG003 Approved For U.S. Road Use and Sale
Bespoke hypercar-turned-race car offers modern taste of the wild GT1 homologation cars of the 1990s.
James Glickenhaus might be the closest thing that exists to an automotive messiah today. After years of collecting some of the world’s most interesting cars, the American filmmaker decided to start making his own cars. Ferrari created his bespoke P4/5 Pininfarina, but Glickenhaus wanted even faster and more exciting machines.
The first was a Competizione version of the P4/5. Then came the P 33, a car that later became the SCG003. The first SCG003 produced was a Competizione version. Powered by a race-spec twin-turbo V6 with nearly 500 horsepower, the SCG003 C blends GT Racing speed and regulations with a Le Mans Prototype look.
Glickenhaus is also building two more powerful, roadgoing versions of the SCG003 dubbed Stradale and Competizione Stradale. The SCG003 S represents the most comfortable and luxurious version, while the SC model combines all the fury and speed of the Competizione but keeps equipment required for road-legal status.
Road-legal race car
The only real problem with the SCG003 family is that, short of some serious red-tape magic, they were illegal for road use here in the States. That all changed last week when James’s company, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, was officially awarded the status of “low-volume manufacturer.” That means that they can sell cars, despite the fact they might not conform to certain NHTSA safety standards or emissions limits.
Basically, the SCG003 resembles a modern version of the classic homologation specials like the Mercedes CLK-GTR: a true race car that meets just enough regulations to be classified as “streetable.” Make no mistake, this car may have lights and a few interior comforts, but Glickenhaus bred the SCG003 as a race car. And nothing excites us more than the thought of seeing it on the road.
As for that “bypassing certain safety regulations” thing, potential buyers should fear not. The SCG003 will be incredibly safe. This exemption means that Glickenhaus can skip certain things like two-stage passenger airbags. However, Glickanhaus have constructed the SCG003 to the FIA’s safety regulations for race duty. You know, those cars you see crashing at 200mph, rolling a few dozen times, and then the driver climbs out. As far as emissions are concerned, well those will be awful and there isn’t a lot of way around that. Sorry polar bears.
If you want one, you better get your wallet out and fast. The cars will cost in the range of $2 million and Glickenhaus will build fewer than 20 built in the next two years.
[Source: Motor Authority]
