488 Challenge Project

Hi to all

A few years ago, a friend and I joked about making a 488 Chalenge car road legal (in UK). We both thought it’d be a daft idea, but could be quite fun and would be a proper hardcore thing.

He explored it further as he owned a car that he divided not to race and after A LOT of work and many mods and additions done by a number of professional teams/outfits, he finally managed to get the car through the IVA test and it’s now approved for road use in the UK. The car now has a V5, is now taxed and insured for road use.

Whilst it’s safe and is now approved for road use, it will of course be a VERY compromised road car in many respects, but having raced the cars for a number of years, I thought it’d a fun and unique toy to own, so I made him an offer and we did a deal.

It’ll be kept for ‘the odd fun day out’ but I think a few minor mods would improve it further and make it a little more useable.

As far as I know, this is the only road legal 488 Chalenge car, so it’s very much a ‘unique project’ and there’s little reference material available on how to go about a few things, so I thought I’d ask the members for some ideas and assistance, in case anyone can help on a few things.

1. The race spec steering race doesn’t allow much steering lock, which is fine on the track but will be a pain when parking the car.
It may be possible to just remove the bump stops from the race rack. If not I’ll just fit a road spec steering rack and remove the additional brake ducts that the race cars are fitted with at the front (it won’t need the extra brake cooling as it won’t be driven like a race car).

2. Front suspension lift …. UK roads and speed bumps could be an issue, so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions on fitting some kind of suspension lift kit or new dampers, it’d be appprecqited.

3. Challenge Wheels are only 19 inch and the race tyres have a higher side wall …. Michelin Road tyres have been fitted to the car, but are lower profile than the race tyres and the rear looks very “under wheeled” with a large gap between the tyres and the wheel arch.
Obviously new wheels will need to be centre lock wheels that fit the original hubs and I want to try to keep the look as close to original as possible, but thinking 20’s on the front and either 20’s or maybe 21’s on the rear would work fine.
Does anyone know the offset of the original 488 Challenge Wheels? I can then start looking to see if there’s a company out there who make any wheels that would fit.

4. Next plan is to upgrade to the EVO spec and have it fully wrapped. The slightly longer front nose of the EVO bumper will further increase the need for the suspension lift to the front of the car.

Any ideas and input welcome!
Thanks

 

The car … Gulf wrap was removed immediately!

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login