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Originally Posted by JAG
Why should $50k, even $100k be such a huge deal when it costs $1m+ for a single RS Spyder or Aston DBR9, with plenty of takers?
Teams aren't lining up for an Epsilon or Riley because they haven't produced a competitive ACO car for 10+ years, if ever.
If Lola's coupe goes into productin I have no doubt they'd be snapped up, even at a $100k premium over an open car. Coupes would be a magnet for sponsors, just as the Astons are in the GT1 class.
Aren't we always told Grand Am isn't neccessarily cheaper to run in than the ALMS, as it's the running costs and infrastructure that contribute to the bulk of costs?
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Answer this then...the rules are on the books for closed top cars and have been...if they are so easy to build and financially competitive...why hasn't anyone done it yet? Don't mistake costs pushed out the door to the purchaser with costs that the manufacturer has to keep down in order to make any kind of profit or if simply to break even. Point being, if you can design a completely competitive open topped car yet make 50,000 more profit, why would you make a closed top car? If Lola is sourcing a manufacturer to fund their car then that's your answer. It will take the funding of a manufacturer to find the advantage while having no worries about the manufacturing and development costs that would then have to be packaged off to potential buyers. I'll suggest every rendering we've seen, Riley's, Lola's, Creation's, and even Epsilon's has been dangled in order to attempt to lure a major manufacturer as there is no good reason for a privateer manufacturer to be building one themselves as it kills the car's potential profit margin.