Radical SR3 review

It’s a road-legal racing car. Just. And as soon as you get it out onto the road, you’ll understand why the idea of doing this hasn’t really caught on. Let’s just say there are many absurdities surrounding the Radical SR3 SL, from its lack of a roof, to the pure single-seater cabin, to the way it batters you with a physical assault on the road that you are barely able to repel.

It’s competing in the street legal trackday refugee market ably occupied by Ariel, KTM and Caterham, but none of them have made anything as, err, radical as this. The ironic thing is that Radical has actually been sanitised for its new on-road role, even switching the old bike-engined SR3 RS’ motor for a 240bhp Ford Ecoboost that’s set to appear in the next Ford Focus. ST. Believe us, hot hatch alternative this is not.