The Light Car Company ‘Rocket’ is a Car We Don’t Deserve
Weighing in at 850 pounds and making 140 HP at 11,000 RPM, this road-legal go-kart is a racing fan’s dream toy.
It is best to preface this article by stating that the definition of what one can consider a road-legal car is a bit loose for this context. Ever wished you could simply hop in what is essentially a go-kart and drive up to work in the morning? Well, we have good and bad news for you. There is such a device and it is known as the Rocket. This car is built by a very small British company called Light Car Company. The bad news? Well, these vehicles are extremely rare. Only 55 of these toy-looking vehicles have been in production. Why didn’t they make more? Well, believe it or not, this car is without a doubt part of a niche market.
Most folks that see the Rocket would be very unlikely to call this thing a car at all. However, for all intents and purposes, this is a legal road-going vehicle. If you thought that vehicles like a Caterham were small, we have a surprise for you. This Rocket takes the definition of small to a whole new level. Weighing in at only 850 pounds, there are touring motorcycles that come close to its weight. The cockpit is so low, your eyesight is only a couple of feet from the ground. This is in every sense a go-kart for the road. However, how does it drive? Thanks to Carfection on YouTube, we get a taste of this wonderfully rare vehicle.
Calling the Light Car Company rudimentary would be an understatement. It has headlights, but you manually lift them up or down depending on whether you need them. It has the brakes from a Formula 3 race car. The tires are only set to around 15 to 20 psi because the car is so light it doesn’t need more pressure. This specific car has the race trim setup, even lighter bodywork and the passenger seat swapped for a fuel cell. Slap a 1000cc Yamaha bike engine in the back making around 140 HP at 11,000 RPM and you have a power to weight ratio scary enough to make seasoned drivers squeal.
According to host Henry Catchpole, this Rocket feels more “alien” than any other ultra-light sports car/kart he has had the chance to drive. He states that the BAC Mono, Caterham Seven, and others simply can’t compare. This makes sense because those cars are almost twice the weight and even then are ridiculously light. Although Catchpole had a loss for words for the Rocket, his conclusion was simple. The Rocket “drives like its floating, accelerates instantly, and steers almost telepathically”. We have to say we want one in our garages as soon as possible.
Does anybody know if one is for sale? We want to feel like Senna at the Brazilian GP too.
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