Saker Cars
Encyclopedia
Saker Sports Cars originated in New Zealand and have been manufactured from 1989 to the present day. The Saker car is named after the bird of prey, found in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The first Saker SV1 was designed and built by Bruce Turnbull, of Turnbull Engineering, in Feilding, New Zealand
. The car was road legal and regularly used for touring and competition.
Brief Specifications:
A limited number of SV1 types were built and these cars were powered with a variety of engines, including V8 and V6.
Saker sports cars built as touring cars can be made road legal in a number countries including, UK, Japan
and New Zealand
.
The Saker SVS GT and SVS Sprint were produced from 1999. The Sprint being an open-top version. This model features updated chassis and mechanicals. The main changes were to the space-fame chassis, to allow it to accept a ‘boxer’ type flat 4 or 6 cylinder engine. The popular choice being the Subaru
Impreza WRX turbo 4 and 2 wheel drive, converted transaxle
The Saker GT and Sprint are also manufactured in the Netherlands, under license. These cars manufactured by Saker Sportscars Europe, based in Etten-Leur since 2005, are race only cars and compete in the European Saker Sportscar Challenge. Saker Europe has since developed a new body in 2010 for their existing Saker GT and Sprint platforms known as RapX and Sniper.
A small number (Believed to be around 3) of race only Saker GTs’ were also manufactured under license in the USA. One road going Saker SVS was imported from New Zealand into the USA in 2004. It was fitted with a Lexus 1UZ-FE 4.0 liter V8 engine mated to a Renault UN1 5 speed Transaxle. Since then it has undergone surgery to accept a highly modified Chevy LS6 5.7L V8 that is just shy of 500hp mated to an Audi 01E (DQS variant) 6 speed transaxle. At the time of the engine change the owner also modified the body, headlights, tail lights, and front bumper/splitter to make the car look more modern.
The Belgian team Fun Still Exists (known also as FSE) uses 3 Sakers for different events and races on the Circuit Zolder.
The first Saker SV1 was designed and built by Bruce Turnbull, of Turnbull Engineering, in Feilding, New Zealand
Feilding, New Zealand
Feilding is a town in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North....
. The car was road legal and regularly used for touring and competition.
Brief Specifications:
- Steel space-fame chassis
- fiberglass body panels
- mid mounted 3 litre V6 engine.
- 5 speed tranzaxle.
- Left or right hand drive.
A limited number of SV1 types were built and these cars were powered with a variety of engines, including V8 and V6.
Saker sports cars built as touring cars can be made road legal in a number countries including, UK, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The Saker SVS GT and SVS Sprint were produced from 1999. The Sprint being an open-top version. This model features updated chassis and mechanicals. The main changes were to the space-fame chassis, to allow it to accept a ‘boxer’ type flat 4 or 6 cylinder engine. The popular choice being the Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
Impreza WRX turbo 4 and 2 wheel drive, converted transaxle
The Saker GT and Sprint are also manufactured in the Netherlands, under license. These cars manufactured by Saker Sportscars Europe, based in Etten-Leur since 2005, are race only cars and compete in the European Saker Sportscar Challenge. Saker Europe has since developed a new body in 2010 for their existing Saker GT and Sprint platforms known as RapX and Sniper.
A small number (Believed to be around 3) of race only Saker GTs’ were also manufactured under license in the USA. One road going Saker SVS was imported from New Zealand into the USA in 2004. It was fitted with a Lexus 1UZ-FE 4.0 liter V8 engine mated to a Renault UN1 5 speed Transaxle. Since then it has undergone surgery to accept a highly modified Chevy LS6 5.7L V8 that is just shy of 500hp mated to an Audi 01E (DQS variant) 6 speed transaxle. At the time of the engine change the owner also modified the body, headlights, tail lights, and front bumper/splitter to make the car look more modern.
The Belgian team Fun Still Exists (known also as FSE) uses 3 Sakers for different events and races on the Circuit Zolder.