Retro review: relive our 2003 drive of the Automotive Solutions AS One

This review was first published in Issue 114 of Top Gear magazine (2003)

Just a few years ago, racing around a disused bus garage in a kart with a lawnmower engine attached was about the only way most of us could experience the excitement of race track driving.

But now, with every circuit and disused airfield in the land opening their gates to track days, it’s easy to spend more time on track than your grand prix heroes – especially if they happen to drive for Jaguar.

The phenomenal growth in track days has also spawned a new breed of car. Over the last few months we’ve featured the Westfield XTR2, the Radical SR3, the Leading Edge 240RT and the Vemac RD190. Proper toys, the lot of ’em. Designed for maximum circuit action – and a minimum of road use.

And now here’s another – the Automotive Solutions AS One. Actually, that’s a bit unfair. The ONE is not just another track day car. The attention to detail in the design and build of this car is incredible. This is the very first prototype, but the finish is superb. Every component was designed in 3D on a computer, the tubular structure was laser cut, the mouldings for the carbon-fibre body were CNC machined – all techniques employed by major car manufacturers.

Unlike the rest of the track day specials mentioned, the One will be fully type approved and crash tested, and it will have a two-year warranty. What makes this all the more remarkable is that it has been achieved by just two men – German Felix Feuerbach and Brit Jeremy Vick, who handbuilt this prototype himself. OK, so they’ve had a bit of help from Opel here and there, and been able to pull a few strings about the place with the assistance of a former BMW board member, but otherwise it’s been just Felix and Jeremy.

The plan is to begin production in summer 2003, when the One will cost around £30,000. So what, aside from a nice finish and a lot of computer-aided design, does one get for one and a half times the price of a Westfield XTR2?

The principle is essentially the same. Underneath the sharply-styled open two-seater body there’s the engine from a Suzuki Hyabusa motorcycle. It’s mid-mounted and drives the rear wheels via a clever differential devised by race specialists Quaife. The bike’s six-speed sequential gearbox is retained, and in the One, is operated by steering wheel paddles, although currently the clutch pedal is employed in the conventional manner.

The chassis is a tubular spaceframe, suspension is fully adjustable, the underside of the car is flat, incorporating a venturi and diffuser to keep the car on the ground at high speed without the need for a big wing. Other neat touches include a removable steering wheel and a multi-function Stack instrument display.

Seats are custom race numbers with weatherproof leather trim, full race harnesses and even removable seat cushions so you won’t mark them when you clamber in and out of the car (as it’s got no doors).

The Suzuki engine produces 235bhp and the weight of the production cars will be about 600kg. Performance claims are 0-60mph in four seconds and a 150mph top end – aided by a long sixth gear not fitted to this prototype.

Just getting in and starting the One is an event. With much practise a very cool Bo and Luke Duke-style leap could be effected, but the first few times it’s a case of lifting a leg high over the side and sort of falling in. Once behind the wheel (having remembered to clip it back on) the driving position is superb and this car hasn’t even been set for me. The pedals and steering wheel can be set at the factory to suit the owner exactly.

To start the engine I turn a key, flip an aircraft-style over-centre catch and then press a toggle. The Hyabusa engine screams instantly to 4,000rpm. Amazingly the One will trickle off the line from idle and that seems to be the best way to get going. I short shift to second before applying full power. Once the Hyabusa motor hits 6,000rpm the One really shifts forward. In final production models, full power upshifts will be possible, but today I have to back off between gears, whereupon a sheet of flame explodes from the exhaust in proper Batmobile fashion.

The gear selector takes some getting used to and I miss the occasional upchange, but the car was readied in a hurry for the Top Gear telly boys and I’m prepared to forgive Felix and Jeremy this minor glitch as the rest of the car feels so right and I doubt I’ve been round the Top Gear test track much faster. There’s little question that the AS One is as enjoyable a drive as they come.

I’m wearing a full face helmet, but there’s little buffeting, suggesting that the One could be driven on the road without a lid. It has also been designed with more ground clearance than its rivals to make it more road friendly, whilst the suspension isn’t overly firm – even when cranked up for track use. A tonneau cover will be offered, although there are no plans for a roof or windows.

The One is not the cheapest track-day special, but is much more suited to the road than a Westfield or Radical. And even the prototype is better put together than those two.

Please excuse the awful pun, but I really do want One.