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| Bat
Corvette |
Broadcast
dates : 21st August 2005
27th August 2005 |
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BAT
Racing is a Jo’burg company that builds these chassis to
international standards. Driven by Terence Marsh with Mike
Whitehouse as navigator, the Nashua Bat is leading the
off-road championship at present.
Over rough terrain there’s nothing to touch a Special
category off-roader. It has about 500 millimetres of ground
clearance, thanks to those massive wheels.
And the long wishbone suspension, with multiple coil-over
springs and dampers, has enormous travel, or up-and-down
movement.
Of course, the suspension is fully adjustable for various
surfaces, but so far the set-up has worked well over all
terrains.
The off-road track can vary from flat-out dusty conditions
in the Kalahari, to rock-strewn mountains in Lesotho.
The shock absorbers or dampers take a terrible pounding,
which is why only the best imported components are used.
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Over
the rough stuff these vehicles are faster than the highly
modified Nissan pick-ups, despite being run by privateer
teams like the Nashua Mobile outfit.
For flat-out running, owner-driver Terence Marsh gave a
demonstration of what the Bat is capable of. Terence has
raced on tar circuits too, but prefers the off-road scene.
The cockpit of the Bat is super hi tech. Plenty of carbon
fibre paneling is used and navigator Mike Whitehouse has all
the latest odo and GPS equipment at his disposal. The cabin
crew also makes use of the latest technology for their
personal "engine rooms".
On the engine front, the Bat is fitted with as very special
race-prepped Chev Corvette LS1 engine producing some 410
kiloWatts.
It runs a five-speed sequential gearbox made by Fortin and a
Fortin differential.
A Motec engine management system takes care of electronics,
and this car accelerates to a hundred in four seconds, and
tops out at 185kilometres per hour.
On dirt tracks, not roads!
BAT Corvette
- Engine: V8 Chevy
LS1 petrol, 5 700 cc
- Power: 410 kW @
6000 rpm
- Torque: N/A
- Transmission:
Five-speed sequential Fortin, rear-wheel-drive
- 0-100 km/h : 4,0
seconds
- Top speed: 185
km/h
- Fuel consumption:
50 litres/100 km (estimated)
- Price: R1-million
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