Retro review: the 550kg Brooke Double R

This review was originally published in Issue 159 of Top Gear magazine (2006)

In my head, I look like Stirling Moss. I am, after all, adopting his classic arm-stretched driving position, overtaking a slower car in a shower of gravel and then giving a little wave à la Moss. Most of all, though, I’m driving something that looks as if it could have just been raced by the legend himself. 

But I don’t. And it wasn’t. Despite the classic cigar shape, the Double R is the latest low-volume, high-performance British sports car. I say latest – the Brooke was first seen as the Brooke Kensington ME190 in the Nineties, when it was promising but undeveloped and lasted all of 10 minutes. However, the concept was bought by a new team, which has totally re-engineered it. 

Central to this is a new 2.3-litre, Cosworth Duratec in-line four delivering 260bhp in a car that weighs just 550kg, the Double R has a power-to-weight ratio that exceeds the Lamborghini Murciélago’s. Under its voluptuous skin is a tubular steel spaceframe with the engine bolted off the rear longitudinally and the gearbox bolted off that. 

The cockpit is tight, but comfy, and passenger space is helped by having the gearchange on the driver’s right. The transmission is a five-speed setup with the gears in the standard pattern. Despite the huge distance between gearstick and ’box, it’s still very easy to use, with a nice, short throw making for quick downshifts, which we suggest you do because it unleashes a whole world of trouble. 

Blip the throttle, snick it down to third and as the rev needle dances around the 3,500rpm mark, gently squeeze the pedal to wake up the buzzing engine behind you. The power is delivered in one terrifying instant; one sudden, violent burst of energy: there seems to be no end to the acceleration until finally it peaks at 7,500rpm and as you change up to fourth, it’s time to do it all again. All this with no screen. Expect flies in the teeth. Lots of ’em. 

The steering is nicely weighted too. Turn into a corner and there’s just the right amount of resistance for taking long, sweeping turns just like Moss. Provided squat, fat, 15in rubber the grip is fantastic and understeer is almost impossible to provoke. 

At just under £32,000, it’s not cheap, but neither is a Caterham Seven and that isn’t short of buyers. With Brooke Cars offering something that looks different, yet is equally invigorating, expect the Double R to be around slightly longer this time. 

Verdict: A decade on and the bugs have been removed from what was a promising car. Unlike those in our teeth.

2.3-litre 4cyl
260bhp, RWD
0-62mph in 3.1secs, max speed 155mph
550kg
£31,995