A Short Documentary
The short story of a long birth
Catfish Walk-Around
Watch how a whole bunch of pictures stiched together give you a full 360 view of the silver Catfish.
Photo Album
I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS CAR, I REALLY LOVE THE REAR VIEW MIRROR, CAUSE I KNOW I’LL BE NEEDING ONE FOR THE DRIVE BACK TO ARKANSAS FROM CALI WHEN I GET MINE. I FOUND A PIC ONLINE BY THE WAY OF A RACE VERSION RENDERING WHERE JUST BEHIND THE FRONT TIRES YOU HAD AN AIR GUIDE AND A MEAN LOOKING REAR DIFFUSER. REPLACING MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE REAR BUMPER, IT LOOKED LIKE HEAVEN. IF YOU GO TO GOOGLE AND SEARCH: C-F-RACE_001 IT WILL COME UP IN THE FIRST PIC USUALLY. THE RIMS AND THE ROLL BAR WERE BLUE, I’D PREFER BLACK OR A CHROME POWDERCOAT FOR MYSELF BUT ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS NONE THE LESS. GREAT JOB GUYS. YOU HAD ME AND MY POP’S SOLD FROM THE FIRST PIC OF JUST THE FRONT BUMPER WE SAW. YOU CAN DEFINITELY EXPECT AN ORDER FROM ME IN A COUPLE MORE MONTHS. I’D BE PROUD TO DRIVE AND OWN ONE. ONCE AGAIN GREAT JOB AND DESIGN. YOU GUYS ARE JEDI’S
SINCERELY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
JAMES FORD
OH TO CLARIFY WHICH REAR VIEW MIRROR I WAS TALKING ABOUT, I WAS REFERRING TO THE ONE ON THE CAR WHEN IT WAS JUST BLACK AND WHITE AT LAGUNA SECA. IT WAS A LIL OVAL SHAPED ONE ATTACHED TO THE HOOD, POSSIBLY CARBON FIBER. IT LOOKED JUST PERFECT FOR THE CAR BETWEEN THE BUG DEFLECTORS. A PERFECT 10 GUYS.
JAMES FORD
Thanks for the comments James, and we definitely look forward to your order. 🙂 A great original rear view mirror for this car would be the Vitaloni Mach I mirror or the Hella Talbot mirror IMO. The other option is the classic British rectangle type seen on Cobras. There are many choices, depending on whether you want to push the styling of the car to the modern or retro.
Still loving this car. You NEED TO SELL A BODY kit. I will never be able to just plot down what you are asking but I can sure as hell build a mean chassis. Sell the body kit. Sell the body kit. Sell the body kit. Sell the body kit. Please…
Never gonna happen George. And when considering the “cost” of the car versus the “value”, remember that if I let every guy with a Harbor Freight welder make his own frame, I’d end up with one or two good ones and a bunch of really, really bad ones; they would ruin the value for the rest of the owners. Our first prototype is now running the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championships and is leading their class in points. They regularly beat cars costing 2-3-4 times as much, and certainly run faster lap times than a $50,000 Miata Cup car. Taken in that context, the car is a screaming bargain.
+1 on bodykit only
such an awesome looking car
You should just consider this a track day car, not even a “kit” car. You’d build a track day car and take care with to put it together right–the way you wanted it built with the right engine and components. This is that kind of car…not a body kit.
I like the term “hand built car” in regards to the Catfish. The level of thought and design going into this “kit” far exceeds its contemporaries. Study the market place and you will understand the difference. I think Cord is doing a great job of straddling the line between boutique engineering and UK kit design. (no offense to anyone; they are just two different market segments.)
Cant wait till I get mine! 😉
To me “kit car” can mean a VW-based car that wants to look like a MGTD and has absolutely no engineering involved. Our cars are certainly engineered, with hundreds of parts and hundreds of decisions made with the goal of performance, style, pace, etceteras. We’re definitely not an “off-the-shelf” type of vehicle.
For the basic kit what is included? The engine stays stock what about suspension? Is this street legal.or track only?
Please check out the “Essentials” area of the site for information regarding what comes with the car. It’s up to the purchaser to go through the legalization process depending on their local laws. Here in California a SB100 voucher is needed, which is the same process that’s used to license an Ariel Atom in state.
I too am interested in a streetable version of this. Sunny weather, of course. Which got me thinking, is there a plan or at least a contemplation of a removable soft or hard roof?
Is there….? It’s killing me…is there what?! 🙂
I really like this car, would be even better if you could make it RHD for the UK market?
Gavin
Surrey, UK
We’ve got all the parts for a Japan-market RHD. There’s no reason why we can’t make RHD, except for confirming with an actual build.
Has anyone out there thought about putting a turbo Subaru motor from a wrx in one of these? I had really wanted to build an 818 until I saw the catfish which clearly has a better design and execution of the bodywork and interior. Really pretty car. I wonder if it could possibly be cheaper than putting a turbo (5k for 250 hp from flyin Miata) on a mazda motor? It would most definitely sound better, and have a lower center of gravity. I figure it must be possible if a LS V8 will fit though the awd transaxle may pose problems.
When are these kits going on sale to the public?
Are there any builds to follow online other than the Flyin Miata one?
Thanks,
Adam
Hi Adam,
We just shipped off a car today that will end up at Detroit Hot Rod. They’ve promised to do a build blog and I hope to link it on our site.
Great! I will look forward to following this build.
Oops. The Subie is a great motor, but we haven’t tested it in this car. The Miata is the engine of choice, and if cash is the issue then I can promise that you can have fun in the car while saving up for a turbo at the same time. LS, Ford 331, SR20DET, and anything that’s been shoehorned into a Miata will fit in this car.
I suspect the width of the motor could be an issue as well. Maybe this is why no one seems to be putting them in Miatas? For me a stock 140hp Miata engine would be plenty of power given the weight of the car. Its more of a superficial want for the excess power and boxer exhaust note. Thank you for the reply. Sincere complements on the design of this car. I really love how uncompromised it is. Hopefully I can build one in my garage someday!
Is there a dual side exhaust option for the V8?
Please make a windshield option for the peace of mind of getting the catfish registered in California! I know it has gotten approved before, but not all DMV’s and police stations are the same. Plus, who doesn’t want a true windshield if the goal is to drive it on the street. And don’t just sell the body. That would cheapen your product and the Catfish name.
We’re actively working on a full windscreen, but have no firm release date. It will back-date to all current cars. That said, the guys in the shop were astounded when I once had a conversation with a wealthy potential buyer. He wanted a heater, a/c, windscreen, top, etceteras. I told him, “Well, the Catfish isn’t for everyone.” End of conversation. 🙂 I really, REALLY hesitate to make available parts that add weight or take away from the raw experience of driving. That said, while I LOVE driving the car with the half screens (and get A lot of looks), I completely understand why people would want a screen for their street car.
>I really, REALLY hesitate to make available parts that add weight or take away >from the raw experience of driving.
Bravo!
Hey a couple questions,
1) What does this kit do to weight distribution? I know the miata naturally is excellent, does this kit also retain a near 50/50 weight distribution?
2) With the new additions of your kit will the car be any stiffer than a stock miata?
When the unibody is removed from the car, weight is taken off both the front and back. The engine then defines the weight bias, which means that taking extra non-essential weight off the front of the car and repositioning the battery and fuel cell in the back is helpful. Race Miatas run into the same issue. Having one person or two in the car can define whether it’s a perfect 50:50 balance or not. As for stiffness, that’s entirely up to the suspension that’s chosen. If it’s a track car, then race springs and suspension rates are used to match the car’s intended use.
I would love to see a youtube of people entering and exiting the vehicle. I too am very interested in a street version for weekend drives. That is for me the best Exotic version I have seen. Nice job!
Hi Tim,
We’ll try to make that happen this week. It’s much easier than you’d imagine, especially with a side height of around 30″. One of the reasons for “no doors” is–among other things–several Cobra owners mentioned that their small doors were almost useless to the point where they regularly stopped using them.
Hi Cord,
Your Catfish looks sexy and potent. I understand why you don’t want to sell just the body. I on the other hand would like to buy just the frame to assemble my frankenMiata parts to and then sculpt my own designed skin. ;-] I’ve been wrenching on cars for 30 years and building a catfish looks a whole lot more fun than putting an IRS in a Jensen Healey. If I can get just the frame let me know.
I would also appreciate it if you would forward me your info on CA’s SB100 voucher info. I live in San Jose, so all DMV help is appreciated. Maybe you could post it under the FAQ’s or Link’s and Resources’ tab.
Thanks for your time,
Hi Kurt, That’s half the reason for offering the “naked” version of the Catfish. Please contact us for details.
I love the side pipe, but the the engine I want to use will need two exhaust pipes. Is there any plan for a passenger side pipe or should I plan to use some engineering wizardry to allow enough exhaust flow?