Sylva car kits

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Sylva Autokits is a UK kit car manufacturer based in Lincolnshire since 1981 . The founder is Jeremy Phillips and the business purpose is to develop and manufacture small, lightweight sports cars . The Sylva have proven to be particularly successful in the 750 Motor Club racing series .

Sylva has sold many of his older designs to other kit car manufacturers such as B. the Fury to Fisher Sportscars , the Stylus to Specialist Sports Cars and the Striker to Raw Engineering . This allowed Phillips and Sylva to concentrate on newer designs and ideas, such as B. the current models Mojo 2 and R1ot .

Models

Sylva Star

Two Sylva Star, one with a Fiat 2-liter engine with two overhead camshafts , the other with a Ford Zetec engine

The first Sylva came out in 1982. The Sylva-Star-Kit consisted of a chassis with two seats with the front subframe and the rear axle of the donor vehicle Vauxhall Viva . The car was mostly powered by a 1.3L or 1.6L Ford-Kent engine , but other engines were available upon request. The star was the first in a long line of small, agile, open-top two-seaters designed by Jeremy Phillips and built as an economical fun vehicle.

Sylva Leader

The Sylva Leader was a further development of the Star, whereby the basic concept - two seats, no roof - was retained and combined with new details. The two-part GRP body consisted of a front-hinged engine hood and a passenger compartment with low side walls. The well-known Ford-Kent engine or the double camshaft from Fiat were available as drive sources. Many Star buyers converted their cars to the narrower and more curved Leader front.

The manufacturing rights to the Leader were first sold to Nials Johannson , who continued to manufacture the model under the company name Swindon Sportscars .

Sylva Striker

The most durable Sylva model, the Striker, was a radical evolution of the Star and Leader models, dispensing with the Vauxhall Viva as a donor vehicle and making the chassis and body itself. The aim was to target two customer groups: the private car manufacturer who wanted an inexpensive kit that they could assemble with simple means, and the racing car manufacturer who placed particular emphasis on good handling and simple construction. The next evolution of the Sylva Striker was already in the drawer (see Sylva Striker Clubman MK4).

Sylva Striker Clubman MK4 / Sylva Phoenix

Sylva Striker Clubman 1

Sylva Striker Motor

In addition to the sale of the Sylva Striker, the foundation stone for a new racing car has already been laid by Jeremy Phillips (founder and owner). He began with the construction of two factory prototypes called "Sylva Striker Clubman MK4". The requirement was clearly defined: to produce an uncompromising winning vehicle for a new English racing class “Restricter Series” or in the “Forwell plc Group K-Sports Series”. The two vehicles received a tubular space frame, a completely smooth aluminum underbody and the cockpit. The GRP shell was commissioned from PJ Engineering of East Barkwith, Lincolnshire. This had a low and curved front and the wheels were covered.

The brother Mark Phillips received the first factory prototype and was equipped with a modified 2700 cm³, V6 Euro engine. With a vehicle weight of only 560 kg, a sensational power-to-weight ratio of 2.8 kg / PS was achieved (comparison Ferrari Testarossa Bj. 1984 = 3.9 kg / PS and Porsche 997 GT3 RS Bj. 2009 = 3.1 kg / PS) . This made it possible to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in an incredible 3.6 seconds. In addition, this vehicle received an English road approval with the registration number NHO 746L, titled as Peugeot 204. Interestingly, the English registration document V5 has the chassis no. 9120161 of the motor donor vehicle (Peugeot) with the first registration from May 22, 1973, although the chassis does not come from a Peugeot and the built-in V6 Euro engine was only presented in 1974. This vehicle is now in a German private collection and is still used on the road. The second factory prototype was built with a modified 1300 cm³ X-flow engine from Ford. In this engine class, too, you were in the first row. The subsequent racing successes were theoretically preprogrammed with the existing performance data. About 60 of the Striker MK4 Clubman model were sold with modified bonnets as racing kits (without engine and gearbox) under the trade name "Phoenix". Jeremy Phillips then transferred the rights to the Phoenix to Stuart Taylor Motorsport England (STM) and the success story of this vehicle type was further expanded.

In the 90s and in the early 2000s the Sylva Striker MK4 / Phoenix dominated the class of the English Kit Car Championship and became the most successful vehicle in the company's history to date: 1990 - Brian Healey - Sylva Striker Mk4, 1991 - Brain Healey - Sylva Striker Mk4, 1993 - Martin Stewart - Sylva Phoenix, 1994 - Martin Stewart - Sylva Phoenix, 1995 - Steve Wontner - Sylva Phoenix, 1997 - Steve Wontner - Sylva Phoenix, 1998 - Andrew Owens (Kit Car) - Sylva Phoenix / Jon White (Class A) - Sylva Striker, 1999 - Jon White - Sylva Striker, 2003/4 - Steve Taylor - Sylva Phoenix.

Sylva Fury

Sylva Fury with a Lanca double camshaft engine

Sylva Fury at the Quarry Corner of the Castle Combe Circuit

The Fury was released in 1991 and the design was sold to Fisher Sportscars in 1994 . Currently the construction of BGH Geartech Ltd. in Kent .

The Fury was very successful in racing; Even today, many copies are used in competitions of the 750 Motor Club , such as the RGB (Road-Going Bike-Engined Kitcar; German: Kit car with motorcycle engine for road use) and other kit car series.

Many different engines can be installed in the Fury, such as all types of car engines from the Ford Crossflow to the Rover V8 and the Cosworth Turbo. Motorcycle engines have also already been installed and are very popular for racing vehicles, in particular because of their low weight, their high performance, their sequential transmission and their low cost.

There are two types of rear suspension: The rigid axle from the Ford Escort , combined with two trailing arms and a Panhard rod, as well as spring-damper units, ensures comfortable driving characteristics in conjunction with good handling and good traction. The independent suspension has rear hubs of the Ford Sierra with specially made wheel carriers and double wishbones . Here, too, the spring is combined with the shock absorber.

Sylva Stylus

Sylva Stylus Classic

The stylus was released in 1994 and the construction was sold to Specialist Sports Cars in 1996 .

The first stylus were built on modified chassis of the Fury; Later, separate chassis were created to accommodate the lowered doors. The front wishbones were fitted with needle bearings, the lower ones were even redesigned so that the lower ball bearings were not damaged. As with most of the other Sylva, various motors could be built into the stylus.

Sylva Stylus RT

In 2003 a modern styled sports car was launched with the Stylus RT

The Stylus RT (= Road & Track) has a standard chassis from Spezialist Sports Car, but with a wider wheel suspension at the front. In the back, washers are used on the wheels; if a De-Dion rear axle is used, one with a wider track can also be used. The rear fenders were developed in the motorsport division of Swansea University . The RT also has a wide front spoiler and rear diffuser. These three aerodynamic improvements can be ordered as extras. SSC installed rectangular headlights. A normal stylus can be upgraded to an RT.

Specialist Sports Cars sold the rights to the stylus to Stylus Sports Car in 2004 . At the moment (summer 2010) there is no stylus available on the market.

Sylva Jester

The car was based on the first generation Ford Fiesta and is now manufactured by Harlequin Autokits .

The Jester kit was recently reported by Stingray Motorsport in Ripley (Derbyshire) bought. Together with Jeremy Phillips, Stingray Motorsport has completely redesigned the Jester. Now the Jester is being built on the basis of the more modern and better available Ford Ka .

The new kit is now on the market. It's easy to assemble and with AVO shock absorbers and Cobra seats you should be able to build a complete car for under £ 5,000.

Sylva Mojo

The Mojo was a new model released in 2000. It was originally created with the drive and engine of the second generation of the Ford Fiesta , which, however, was installed in the rear, so that a mid-engine concept was created. The CVH engine from Ford was therefore the standard, but there were also other engines, such as the Ford Zetec engine , the Toyota 4AGE or the engine of the Renault 5 GT Turbo used.

The Mojo had a De Dion rear axle and another variation of the Sylva suspension at the front.

Sylva Mojo 2

The Mojo 2 is a revised version of the Mojo, which has a rear suspension on double wishbones. The body was modified in the rear area and there are two differently styled front sections.

Sylva Mojo SE

The Mojo SE is a further development of the Mojo 2, which was provided with the rear part of the chassis from the Riot SE in order to give it a slightly longer wheelbase and to enable the installation of a larger number of different engines. The rear end of the body has been redesigned to accommodate the longer wheelbase.

Sylva Riot

The Riot is a motorcycle engine version of the Mojo 2. The first version had a Yamaha R1 engine installed and was called R1ot . The vehicle was later redesigned so that a Ford Zetec engine could also be used. The result was called Riot SE . It was voted “Kit Car of the Year 2005”.

Web links and sources

Commons : Sylva - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ History and dates of the Sylva Riot (English)

[1] History and dates of the Sylva Riot (English)