America's Failed LS V12-Powered Hypercar Could've Been A 9.5-Liter Monster
Kit cars come in all shapes and flavors. From bite-sized roadsters to modern revivals of American icons, kit cars offer an engaging experience that lends themselves to passion projects built in a customer's garage more than simple appliances. Some of the most notable names in the kit car market include Caterham, which has produced models like the Seven 485 and Factory Five Racing.
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2023 Caterham Seven 420
The latter is responsible for creating several important kit cars, most notably the many renditions of the AC Cobra through kit cars like the recently unveiled Mk5 Roadster or the Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe, a modern interpretation of an icon. However, one of the coolest offerings from the American kit car manufacturer was a kit car of supercar proportions powered by an LS-based V12 engine called the Factory Five Racing F9.
This article focuses on the history, specs, and status of the Factory Five Racing F9 concept and the variations of the F9 concept.
The Factory Five Racing F9
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Factory Five Racing is an American automotive company that primarily manufactures and supplies kit car assemblies, chassis, bodies, and other components that revolve around replica cars and sports cars. Some of the kit cars offered by FFR include the Mk5 Roadster, which, as we've previously said, is the modern interpretation of the AC Cobra. However, while these might be the most popular and prolific offerings in their catalog, FFR also featured high-performance kit cars, most notably the 818 and the GTM, the latter of which is no longer in production.
Factory Five Racing Mk5 Roadster front three-quarter
FFR would introduce another kit car in the wake of the GTM's passing, which was another kit car offering "exotic" supercar performance and appeal levels, dubbed the F9 concept, the ninth design penned by the American automotive company. It was primed as the company's halo car and conceived as the GTM's successor. Unlike its predecessor, the F9 concept was designed as a two-seater front-mid-engine supercar that customers could build independently.
It was a thing of beauty and was an enticing proposition, considering that the concept envisioned a supercar-level kit car with a powerful V12 engine - that could also work with small block engines, Ford crate engines, and modular Ford engines- and featured a carbon fiber body, which was an oddity in the kit car market. However, while its looks were the immediate defining characteristics of the FFR F9, the many components hidden beneath its sultry physique deserved to be fawned at and gawked over.
A V12-Powered American Supercar
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The stunning physique of the FFR F9 that we've become accustomed to is the handiwork of Phil Frank, who designed the original Saleen S7. Factory Five Racing's supercar was designed completely in CAD, thereafter being imagined as a scale model and finally a full-size example of the production version, all in three years. The body of the FFR F9 had been shaped through countless wind tunnel testing sessions and track tests.
Below that muscular physique was a tubular spaceframe steel chassis. The prototype of the FFR F9 was assembled by seasoned Factory Five builder Erik Treves and was kept at the Factory Five warehouse. However, the engine used in the rolling chassis presented at SEMA 2021 was the focal point of the Factory Five Racing F9. While it could be paired with a Ford crate or modular engine, the standout power plant configuration was a 9.5-liter V12 based on the big block LSX.
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As a reference and to offer some perspective on the ludicrousness of this engine, the LSX is a 7.0-liter V8 engine. Built by Race Cast Engineering, the LSX gained four extra cylinders, a shorter 3.62-inch stroke crankshaft alongside the LSX's standard 4.125-inch cylinder bore, LS7 style Yella Terra rockers, custom camshaft, Cometic MLS head gaskets, new valve covers and stainless steel exhaust flanges. The hulking power plant could spin to 7,100 rpm with its 750 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque. While it does have several new internal components, it is devoid of a turbocharger system, like the twin-turbocharged LS engines offered by NRE. Dyno graphs of this engine showcased its ability to offer more than 600 lb-ft of torque at almost any point in the rev range, meaning it was a rev-happy behemoth that could easily muster more than 1,000 hp with some slight changes. It's not the craziest thing we've seen done using an LS engine, but it is certainly up there on the list.
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The F9R and the F9E soon joined the Factory Five Racing F9. The F9R is an offshoot of the F9, which envisions a version of the powerful supercar with a greater affinity for track driving, visually distinguished from the F9 by way of several pieces of bodywork that improve aerodynamic performance like large air curtains, side skirts, a revised and more pronounced rear diffuser, and a large rear wing. FFR displayed a rolling chassis at SEMA 2019, with the final product envisioned as a carbon fiber-laden two-seater car tipping the scales at 2,400 lbs and sitting on a 104-inch wheelbase. It was also intended as a 78 inches wide and 46 inches-tall model.
However, as exciting and enticing as the Factory Five Racing F9 was, its original debut was scheduled for 2021, but it's 2025, and still, no FFR F9.
So, What Happened To The F9?
FFR F9
Delays, Covid-19, and redesigns. Factory Five Racing has issued several delays for the F9 concept, with updates drip-fed to enthusiasts eager to find out when the final product would finally be available to the public. In 2020, Factory Five Racing published an update about the F9 and the F9R. At the very end of that update, a small section was included stating that the design team was working on small changes to the F9's front end.
A year later, another update was published that covered FFR being granted the trademarks for the F9, F9R, and F9E. At this time, the prototype of the F9 had been completed and was being kept at the FFR warehouse. Again, we'd be told that the design team was changing the car's front end to improve aerodynamics and aesthetics. Subsequently, the production date was moved back to 2022. In a video update, the founder of Factory Five Racing, David Smith, addressed the changes to the F9. According to the update, the car's front end lacks the aggressiveness that was found in every other part of the F9. The idea was to make the car's front end shorter and narrower.
Because of the many delays and the COVID-19 pandemic, which stunted progress on the F9 project, the Factory Five Racing F9 would not debut on the date initially given to customers. The team is still developing the F9 and changing git to meet visual and performance requirements. In the most recent update, it was alluded to that the F9 might only arrive in 2025.
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