Thursday, May 17, 2007

La Bala: $25,000 Lightweight Kit Car Based On The Toyota MR2

The La Bala, which means “The Bullet” in Spanish is the work of car enthusiast Steve Graber who made his dream come true: build an inexpensive, lightweight tube-frame car with an original body design from scratch. Graber started off with a friend’s Toyota MR2 as the basis for his dream car and it took him around three years to complete. The result? A track car weighing in at 1.500 lbs – 680kg with a turbocharged 1.6L Toyota powerplant delivering 170Hp. According to Graber the La Bala sprints from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in 4.3 seconds and has a F/R weight bias of 35/65. And all this was made in his own garage! -Continued below

Due to the attention that his project car received, Graber decided to set up a small company dubbed Grabbercars and offer La Bala for sale as a as a kit car in crates (excluding drivetrain and paint build) for $25.000 / €18.500. Grabber also offers the option of fully assembled cars with an engine of the customers preference. See more details about the La Bala at Grabercars web site here.