FR-1 concept to star overseas

 

The FR-1 concept car could be headed to Europe and the USA this year after a solid reception at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

It is being groomed for the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, the biggest event of the European motoring year, and then the massive SEMA aftermarket equipment show at Las Vegas in America.

But it has already found plenty of backers at home in Australia.

"I have had people wanting to give me a deposit so they can buy a car," says the man who heads the FR-1 project, Brian Tanti.

"They are surprised that we only want to build a single car. They wonder why we're not going into full-scale production.

"So I haven't taken any money, but people are keen. They are also supportive when they hear what we are doing with the car and that it is being used as a fundraiser for charity."

The 21st century roadster - with an advanced composite chassis, E85 Holden V8 engine and hand-beaten aluminium body - is a showcase for the skills in the Australian motor industry. It has been designed, developed, engineered and built by talented youngsters from various sectors of the motor industry using a base at the Automotive Centre of Excellence in Melbourne.

The plan for the international tour by the FR-1 was hatched by Tanti and his team and they are hoping to get backing from the Victorian government to make it happen.

"At this stage I think the chance of it going is reasonably good. It's not confirmed but we have had interest from the automotive division of Victoria's Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development," says Tanti.

"We're not sure if they will have the money for Frankfurt and SEMA, but we're hopeful. We're working through a budget and a timeline and we have support from the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing."

Tanti is keen to take the whole display from the Melbourne Motor Show, including a bare aluminium body and a rolling chassis with drivetrain, but is not sure how the plan will develop as the FR-1 team is also hoping to have a driveable prototype by August.

"We wouldn't want to take a finished car because we want people to see what is inside. And a painted body would not show the work in the aluminium," Tanti says.

He is ticking the boxes to make the tour happen and is staying hopeful.

"We have a loose plan. We've spoken to Gibson Freight and to get it from Australia to Frankfurt it would need to leave around the 27th of July. To get from Frankfurt would be tight, but we could do it with sea freight and then driving it cross-country from Los Angeles.

"There is a very tight timeline and to make that timeline will take a signficant amount of money. Whether the government is prepared to help, we don't know yet."

But Tanti knows the support he has seen at the Motor Show.

"There have been crowds around it for most of the show. There have been people reading every single word on every single sign. One teacher from Ararat even offered a Mars bar to any of his students who went to the show and saw the car," he says.

"The reaction from the general public has been fantastic. And once they realise it's for charity they love it."

 

 

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