Good news! It's Nissan’s £11k racer

Always wanted to go racing but never quite had the cash? Well, we have good news and bad news.

First, the good: you can now get a brand spanking new racing car for £11,000.

The bad news? It’s a Nissan Micra. And you can only buy it in Canada…

Designed as a stepping stone from karting to racing, the Nissan Micra Cup kicks off in May 2015, with five rounds all taking place in Quebec. Each round contains two half-hour races as well as practice and qualifying. Almost identical to F1, then.

If it’s a success, the series will expand to other Canadian provinces. Over 25 cars are expected to take part – so expect local panel-beaters to be printing off a new set of business cards as we speak – and anyone 16 or over with a driving licence can take part.

So why the Micra, stalwart of learner drivers and elderly shoppers? In Canada, it’s the cheapest car you can buy, starting at $9998; that’s a piffling £5,500 at current exchange rates. So its light motorsport overhaul lifts it to little more than the price of a base Ford Fiesta in the UK. Very attainable.

Naturally, the little Micra has had a bit of a motorsport-biased overhaul. Its 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, with a pumping 109bhp and 107lb ft of torque, remains. Helping eke as much out of the power-to-weight ratio as possible, though, the interior has been completely stripped, the only seat being the driver’s racing bucket, which gets a five-point harness.

There’s a Nismo S-Tune suspension kit, a sportier exhaust, stronger brakes, a roll cage and some fancy new wheels with stickier tyres. And if it all goes wrong, there’s a fire extinguisher in there for good measure.

The makeover has been carried out by JD Motorsports, whose founder Jacques Deshaies seems very excited to race-ify a Micra. “After my first test-drive in the Micra, with my heart racing from this seemingly inconspicuous, subcompact car, I knew without a doubt this was the optimum vehicle for the motorsport series”, he says. Sounds likes Canadian buyers get a completely different Micra to us…

There’s just one more bit of bad news. The racing makeover ensures the Micra Cup isn’t road legal. So there’ll be no stocking up on cat food supplies once you’ve taken the chequered flag.