The 380KG Rocket - Can A Car Be Too Light? | Carfection 4K

Henry Catchpole drives the rare Light Car Company Rocket, a car with a weight of just 380kg. He asks the question, can a car be too light?
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[@peterclayton4385]

A vehicle can never be too light. A vehicle can, however, have too little aero.

[@YensR]

And/Or suboptimal weight distribution.

[@watsisbuttndo829]

Yes and the lighter it gets the more important suspension quality becomes

[@iheartmysquid]

nah

[@SachaKDrums]

Depends what you need it for. Towing requires weight for maximum traction.

[@SachaKDrums]

And yeah, I know I’m on a sports car vid

[@mikebevan8008]

When your bodyweight makes up more than 15% of a car's weight

[@adriankingdon3055]

mike b when you roll like a typical American

[@Phenom98]

@@theantsaretakingover Chill. I'm an american and I laughed. Stop being so butthurt.

[@eddiepanedi8561]

If you design Inerters into the suspension you can take much greater hits. Inerters are what allow light vehicles to absorb very heavy impacts to their suspension. I designed a Inerter-based suspension into MTB, and it will absolutely revolutionize human-based lightweight transportation vehicles.

[@TAILSORANGEs]

I weigh about 60 Kilograms -> So, 1/5 the Car's empty operating weight.

[@TAILSORANGEs]

Keyword here is "Empty Operating Weight" --> So that means without fuel and person.

[@tommihommi1]

this looks like a early 60s formula car

[@maxnawas8405]

It's based off a 60s F1 car

[@rickc2102]

Badge design by Wes Anderson.

[@Taz1451]

When you do compare it, it actually makes more sense (the weight). Employing modern technique, a Formula Junior weighs under this, and there's literally nothing different between those and this. I guess it's just the Gordon effect

[@tommihommi1]

@@Taz1451 This car was designed in the 90s as still a road car, it would be a shame if modern formula 3 cars weren't better.

[@Taz1451]

@@tommihommi1 Formula Junior was 1959 - 1963. A modern f3 car weighs more than this.

[@hertzer2000]

Should do a special episode called " Cars Henry Might Fit Into".

[@zounds13]

@5putput I did NOT need that visual.

[@fryreartechnology7611]

As a big block and tall guy as well I could watch that as I have a little tiny car that getting in and out of sucks but once in it is a glove unless the top is down on my BMW Z3 M roadster.

[@stefaneinz]

Thanks Henry for a fantastic video of my little Rocket - it was a super day out, and great fun to see how your wonderful videos are put together. I think you’ve captured the essence of the car beautifully - and you’re welcome to have another drive any time.

[@zounds13]

*starts working on Catchpole impression

[@leesonneville1817]

Can I have a go? You can take my Fiesta for a spin.

[@justinturner4850]

Thank you sir for sharing your vehicle with the world. A dream car of mine is an Atom, but I live on Maui and we don’t have racetracks or a big car scene. The internet is the only practical way I can learn about most of these vehicles. Enjoy your gem, drive safely.

[@busabrack2433]

Exquisite car, remember them when they were new and was completely mesmerised with them in the same way it sounds that Henry was... I know what he means about the gearshift though; I had a Westfield Megablade and we swapped our original 893cc engine for a 919cc, and found that the gear linkage suddenly worked backwards... took some getting used too! My Megabusa thankfully is the "right" way around again, and is also very light (thanks to lots of carbon) at 420kg dry... 380kg though?!? Wow! Once again, lovely car, I'd love to see more of it.

[@adampeters7947]

Can i have a drive? Promise to return it. Not a scratch

[@chrisogrady28]

These are so OP on gran turismo, tune it up and it demolishes almost everything. And the car classification doesn’t take power to weight ratio into account, so you can use it to race against hot hatches. Basically cheating.

[@npne1253]

Yup in GT6 right

[@masonnero9038]

I used to use the pikes peak escudo and a pagani zonda in gt3. If given a straight line nothing could catch it. It also made me hate 787bs even more.

[@Wpjgdmtu]

@@masonnero9038 dang when your said escudo it took me back to GT2 where I earned all my winnings with that car. The grind was real

[@dylanzrim3635]

@@masonnero9038 you know the escudo pikes peak was actually designed to turn too? You just sucked.

[@unitx445]

Its so light that it makes his Helmet go from White to Black :D

[@bjofuruh]

It is so fast the helmet was charred by the friction of the airflow.

[@corpsenugget455]

Ikr wtf

[@simonwilson975]

That's because he changes from HC to Jethro Bovingdon, clealy a chance too good to miss!

[@haziqashraff1029]

If had a special paint that changed to black when its getting cold

[@Triggerboy78]

found the guy who didnt watch to the very end of the video ;)

[@matthewalexander3891]

I was the salesman for The Light Car Company back in the day. (not that I sold many). Although I was lucky enough to drive them whenever I got the chance including Mallory park, Brands ( a potential customer drove me round Brands with me in the back, far too fast and very sideways, was one of the scariest experiences I’ve ever had)!! and `snetterton plus a couple of thousand miles on the road. Amazing cars. You can actually lift the front up by one of the wheels!

[@ElGrecoBrujo]

Is The Light Car Company still in business?

[@matthewalexander3891]

Αριστείδης Αποστόλου no but you good look up on google to see if there’s anything.

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Bring back LCC! 😭

[@jareknowak8712]

@ATS599 make it "DIY"

[@MightySchultz]

Any more stories??? I know there is a Rocket book in the works, I hope we hear from the salesmen in it!

[@myMotoring]

I could use downforce aero and it will be a different beast

[@walangchahangyelingden8252]

@@Nick.964 Lift I guess

[@joshnordin4043]

It needs front force aero to make it go faster

[@marvintpandroid2213]

@@joshnordin4043 Aero on a vehicle like this would make it less predictable and would need the driver to have a much higher level of skill to understand what effect it would have. Aero could make it faster in the right hands on a track but more dangerous on the road in the hands of a novice.

[@joshnordin4043]

Heads Tails its needs sideforce aero so i can go sideways

[@marvintpandroid2213]

@@joshnordin4043 in English?

[@macaron3141592653]

That is easily the best car badge ever. The second I saw it, I had the exact thoughts Henry did. We need more color and vibrance in our cars, especially when more and more are going electric.

[@johnsim3722]

It's one car I've always wanted to see reviewed. Thank you for doing so.

[@ftyiogtyre7769]

Check out jay leno's video.

[@MightySchultz]

+1, only a handful of reviews out there..

[@MartinPittBradley]

I think a fog light is worth the weight. Given how tiny that thing is, I’d also feel safer with a roll cage around my head, like a TRex.

[@333toxin]

I don't think this is the type of car you should feel safe in. lol

[@333toxin]

@Dr.Science lol sorry i was typing fast i just edited it

[@h7pubg]

Sidowse Dowsett yeah but regardless even if you rarely use it a roll cage is still a good thing to have, probably would want it more on a car like this than a daily driver

[@ipo7596]

I think a decent rear wing would compliment it given how light, how fast it would get, how short it's wheelbase is.

[@ducedevlstear2471]

@@ipo7596 wing would massively upset its personality.

[@dombower]

When your helmet changes colour on each cut.

[@DrPococksMagicPills]

When you don't listen to the bit where he explains that the driver with the black helmet is the owner

[@theejasonbourne6308]

I haven't seen this channel before so when he said "I wasn't sure if I would fit so I delayed getting in" or something I wondered how tall he was and I then saw that he is a giraffe.

[@TheThunderwars]

This is my "goal car". I currently have a classic mini that I modified with metro vented brakes, 4 pots calipers, around 90bhp ( which is 27 more than what it came with) and with around 650kgs it is pretty zippy. However, in France you can't modify cars as you can in other countries ( else, it would be a "minibusa" or even a VTEC Mini in a blink of an eye ...). So this LCC is really the best I can hope for...

[@karlvanginderdeuren4009]

TheThunderwars buy an atom. Two for sale in Belgium at the moment. Including mine :)

[@jareknowak8712]

@@karlvanginderdeuren4009 why You are selling an Atom? What else will give You same fun?

[@karlvanginderdeuren4009]

Jarek Nowak because we have shit weather seven months of the year. Love the car.

[@sugarnads]

Get a Renault 8 Gordini and enjoy.

[@grahamrushin4384]

When you think you have seen it all and then manual popup lights appear.

[@mr.dankengine]

1:07 🎶🎶Manual pop-up-up-and-down headlights🎶🎶

[@Lukeywoodsey]

I remember having this car in a Gran Turismo game, giving it so much power that it wouldn't go round hign speed corners because it has no downforce.

[@ballinvsxx]

Luke Woods me too, cheesed many an enduro race coming in with huge power incredible fuel economy yet a low performance rating due to the no aero

[@JDStoneCreations]

When the king of adding lightness teaches his ethos to a genius design engineer, this is the car you get!

[@SupercarsinGreece]

A car from another era! Really like it!

[@bro6046]

Supercars in Greece Hello. You know this channel That’s great I love this channel And Donut media

[@SupercarsinGreece]

@@bro6046 Hi my friend!!! Yes, me too!!!

[@maanmallak8953]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZW9epx4gdmKnJY

[@siburg6590]

Amazing content Henry and Team- proper unicorn of a car- gets even more special and relevant every year. Restart production please!

[@Chalky.]

It seems like a car that having experience riding bikes would help as you're more attuned to reading the road surface.

[@zogworth]

I feel like everyone should ride at least a scooter before driving a car to give them a better understanding of road conditions and how vulnerable you really are.

[@deeplyclosetedindividual]

@@zogworth and to be more respectful around 2wheelers...

[@srinitaaigaura]

Gordon is a crazy biker. Never fails to watch Isle of Mann.

[@BertyBogTrot]

Man Henry you just do the best car reviews. I can really connect with your passion for anything automotive in every video. Thanks mate.

[@TheBeavadelic]

Discovered this channel 9 minutes ago- instant subscriber! Love the no nonsense, straight informative format

[@andreapintacorona2848]

Someone: "Lotus Elise is too extreme for the everyday life." Me: Amazing, loving british cars.

[@Anankin12]

too extreme* senza much, every* day life E beccati il like

[@andreapintacorona2848]

@@Anankin12 In effetti è un po' una ridondanza, però grammaticalmente non è scorretto. Ora correggo, grazie

[@Anankin12]

@@andreapintacorona2848 no no, è proprio sbagliato. Ah, e togli "the" Rispondi quando hai corretto che cancello i commenti

[@1183newman]

This was inspired by the Lotus 51r from the 60s

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

@5putput 🤣

[@ReclusiveDuck]

The good...….Probably my favourite car of all time. The Bad...…...I travel on that road a lot and I missed it, aaagh! lol. And that badge is so cool.

[@ReclusiveDuck]

@@smorgasbord-design B4560 just outside Llangynidr in South Wales. It's been popular with motoring journalists for decades.

[@grayfool]

Brilliant. Great to see something truly different. Thank you Carfection.

[@5thgearouttahere]

What a joy! Thanks for ticking a shared dream off the list Henry.

[@gerardmontgomery280]

Colin Chapman "Add lightness and simplify" Gordan Murry "Then add even more lightness"

[@doug-core8850]

I've never heard a car reviewer talk like this. So in-depth i feel like im his race engineer getting feedback for the next setup changes. You sir a real tradesmen in a crowd of labourers. Keep up the good work.

[@arthurthompson3759]

Really appreciate your videos mate - there's a lot of heart and soul in them. I think you and chris harris are probably the best car reviewers around.

[@MrDigitalMiami]

Good job to the sound guys that took part in this video. Amazing ride!

[@fritzforstel8367]

Time and time again with every carfection video i wish i could talk and write like that.

[@zounds13]

Me too, but mostly I wish I could drive all those wonderful cars.

[@ambergris5705]

"It's too light" Says a Bentley owner.

[@leslienordman8718]

Brilliant episode! And eternal gratitude to The Guy in The Black Helmet: your generosity is vast. I always wondered what the Rocket drove like. I love light cars like the Atom, the Caterham and the BAC Mono. Lightness and efficiency show us the way!

[@guywilson187]

Nice review nicely shot. Thanks for sharing.

[@No_Track_Limits]

It took me a while to spot it wasn’t big Henry In the exterior tracking shots

[@manufernandes3190]

Gran turismo 6 intensify 😂 I hope this car comes back to gran turismo sport

[@BlitzkriegRap]

wow this was in GT6?

[@beltranperez378]

Glad I'm not the only one who remembers it lol

[@nastystew6942]

This was a great car in the game!

[@pierce324]

That's where I was introduced to it!

[@deeplyclosetedindividual]

@@BlitzkriegRap GT5 also

[@garethstears]

Absolutely loved this. I remember looking at one Caterham Cars had in stock many years ago. Another great vid by the best in the business!

[@Z-u-m-a]

Thought it was a camera-perspective trick at first and you'd shrink as you walked back towards to the car... but no you were right next to it! Fabulous machine that I'd forgotten about.

[@darius2640]

dont get one in red if you dont wanna hear jokes about dogs parts everywhere you go

[@iBoss818]

These roads look amazing to drive in! Where in England is that?

[@dylanh1978]

Wow, imagine one of these on a Sunday morning, don't think a driving experience would get much funner. Great video👏

[@frefnurk1538]

Please please please more of this type of wonderful reviews, Henry. Of course when someone offers you the cars.

[@AJTalks]

You take a car with a unusually high bhp/ton and never rev it out or talk about the power?

[@Nemoticon]

That badge is EPIC!!!! Like something from a comic book xD

[@rickc2102]

Makes me think of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

[@SuperDodoe]

Thanks Henry! Nice haircut 👌!

[@joe5boost]

great vid thank you for sharing keep up the good work

[@Hondawitalaptop]

"there's nothing like this" this dude should try and ride a liter bike

[@eduardosampoia5480]

Bikes are a totally different beast. Plus you need to want to be an organ donor to ride a bike and a low IQ is also required.

[@robertrobb9193]

eduardo sampoia I guess you just want to piss people off huh?

[@RealAntek]

@@robertrobb9193 yeah hes just trynna be a troll, a rlly pathetic, unintelligent, and unfunny attempt at trolling though.

[@duanerackham9567]

@@eduardosampoia5480 fuck you

[@andreachinaglia5804]

@@eduardosampoia5480 this car, without a roll bar, is probably even unsafe then a bike. with its very low weight it is not impossible that hitting an obstacle or loosing traction and ending in a ditch it capsize, it happens to way heavier cars. if the roll bar is mandatory in competition cars, that conceptually are similar to this one, there is a reason. that told riding a liter bike or this car hard on a public road is anyway unsafe, not only for the rider by the way, you can kill people. certain things should happen only on a track, that is safe and predictable, then riding both is not so unsafe, with the right protections and for this car adding a roll bar.

[@RendiRetnandito29]

"BAC Mono is 50% heavier than this, 580kg this is...380.....?" the doubtfulness when Henry says 380 made me giggle

[@mbal4052]

Lyonel Kahee-ros don’t be so pedantic

[@mbal4052]

@Lyonel Kahee-ros on not American either its English language..Google it

[@mbal4052]

@Lyonel Kahee-ros ok, in this case it means to point out small details that arent really relevant, significant or helpful to the overall conversation or topic. 😉 lol

[@mbal4052]

@Lyonel Kahee-ros good luck with learning English, it is very good 👍

[@stevenkelby2169]

HEY! You, two, stop it! This is a KZbin comment section! This is not where I expect to see a friendly and respectful discussion, it's freaking me out!

[@Nanogrip]

Manual pop-up headlights? Honestly, I love it already. One of those cars that I'll have one day when I am in a better spot.

[@AWood28]

This is the best motoring journalist is the world imo. I like them all with Chris Harrisna close second but this is another level.

[@b_mb4948]

There are some people who weigh more then that car...

[@lauralaura3951]

LOOOOOL

[@kantina4765]

shes called mrs bennett

[@michaelhart5886]

Half of the Americans I'd say

[@bryantcurtis2665]

Brodie Bennett Your mom

[@albertweedsteinthethuggeni7797]

You

[@Garyagdy]

It’s just a motorcycle gearbox. Hence the “unusual” shifting pattern. Lol down for the first and others all go up

[@StryveUK]

Lovely little video, great car.

[@brucewiser9270]

Great review of one of my all time favorites that's not a Lotus Seven/Caterham!

[@Jake-si9ih]

Imagine looking at a motorcycle and thinking "I wish it was heavier and had 4 wheels"

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

Check which one is faster, then get back to me

[@SoulDelSol]

The fastest production cars are exceeding 300mph and fastest production motorcycles are just exceeding 200mph

[@Sebastian_Athea]

Ah yes, the car that completely breaks Gran Turismo 6

[@iraqifoodcart8447]

Breaks* gran turismo Brakes are what you use to stop a car. Why are so many people ignorant of the difference between breaks and brakes...

[@Sebastian_Athea]

@@iraqifoodcart8447 I misspelled it and clicked on 1st suggestion, didn't even noticed it till now LOL

[@notasian7620]

@@iraqifoodcart8447 dang give a guy a brake 😂

[@liljuz1981]

If somebody doesn't let him know then the English language as we know it may brake down.

[@grahamfalcon4825]

One of my favourite cars. So so special. Think I've only ever seen one in real life. Great film as always.

[@drewgoh5748]

I love your reviews!

[@TerribleTimes]

imagine this with a contemporary 200 hp plus 1 liter super bike engine in it!

[@joebooth67]

Or the 300hp Kawasaki H3-R supercharged engine, you'd be getting close to 1hp per kg with that thing

[@stevenkelby2169]

More power would be too much power. Plus you'd have to add weight etc. Perfect as it is.

[@wilcisco1159]

Is it available in production? Or just a project/concept?

[@Wirenfeldt1990]

They only built 55 of them.. So it was a production car.. .. technically..

[@iMadrid11]

Wirenfeldt1990 So if you crash it you can’t buy any spare parts.

[@h7pubg]

Chris Bautista I mean if you crash it you’d probably be more focused on the fact that you made it out alive

[@jcreswick]

I love the way the helmet changes from white to black every 6 seconds amazing!

[@sanmaan13]

Sweet sweet review Henry! Also, that exhaust note is darn raspy. In-line 4 magic.

[@Saint_Vincent1735]

My neighbour has one of these. Jealous much.

[@jareknowak8712]

Stole it and give me! 😉

[@Saint_Vincent1735]

@@jareknowak8712 that my friend is being a bad neighbor

[@jareknowak8712]

@@Saint_Vincent1735 i dont care. I just want my car!

[@NippyMoto]

Imagine Huyabusa swapping this thing and throwing some modern day semi slicks tyres on it as well and some 6pot brakes. It would truly be a rocket then.

[@Wirenfeldt1990]

Kawasaki Ninja H2R if you absolutely want to sail off into the countryside doing about a million miles an hour..

[@NippyMoto]

@Marius Ipad Semi Slicks (i.e AR1s, R888s, A050s etc) Not full slicks, that would be outrageous not to mention illegal if you are to drive it on the street!

[@FicaGTI]

According to Jay Leno some of them have been swapped. 6pot brakes? Absolutely not necessary for car this light, it has formula 3 brakes already and everyone who ever tested it said that dry braking performance is outstanding.

[@NippyMoto]

@@FicaGTI Maybe but there's no real thing as too much brakes.

[@FicaGTI]

@@NippyMoto For 6pots you have to change wheels and tires...then why not go for 8pots :)

[@roddydykes7053]

Love this, hope more builders do stuff like this for the market

[@xxxdodacion7395]

The little swoosh of lines curving at the tail of the rocket flame in the emblem is a nice touch

[@johnl.7582]

I owned a Caterham Fireblade that was almost this light, about 395kg. Dickie Meaden hit something like 370kg with his build from what I recall, by spaffing loads of money on carbon bits. Carbon fibre and a rebuilt live axle from a Morris Ital, the perfect combination.

[@johnl.7582]

@Jorn Navarre Well, it depends on what you mean by "handling". On track it was incredible, it leaned monstrously but handled beautifully. On a bumpy road it got out of shape pretty quickly, but was still plenty of fun. The best thing about light weight was almost zero tyre and brake wear. I did a number of track days on a single set of road-legal semi-slick tyres and pads, driving probably 2 hours on track each time, round and round right on the limit. There is almost no road car you can do that in, even an Elise is about twice the weight and eats tyres and pads, relatively speaking.

[@bobster2149]

Nice continuity regarding the helmet/driver

[@HenryCatchpole]

Bobster Hence mentioning it at the end!

[@GarryMcGovern]

Seamless!! 😆😆

[@tulku4797]

I didn't know that trick with this sweet car's headlamps, thank you for the video.

[@jsnadrian]

great sign-off line. A+.

[@bucketslash11]

i know a lighter car: Peel P50

[@zoltanmeszaros4684]

Lel

[@alexbasha0508]

If only we could put in an actual racing motorcycle engine in it 😂

[@johndoumenis7956]

Peel p50 it's not a car it's actually a box with three wheels

[@zapfanzapfan]

That's a motorized suit case :-)

[@extec101]

@@alexbasha0508 just need a modern and tuned moped engine like a minarelli am6 or derbi ebs

[@laszlohenderson8716]

Am watching this with the auto-generated subtitles on. 'I've driven a lot of caterers'... Ha ha

[@BrendanEvan]

Brilliant words and shots

[@jamesf8864]

That looks one hell of a lot like the Brooke cars from 2007/8! They had Cosworth Duratecs in the back but were very very similar in appearance.

[@brianiswrong]

I don't care if it adds 20 kg and a few £££ But a roll hoop would seem a nice " option".

[@Speedwelltuning]

This needs to be modernised with a bmw S1000rr engine and conventional paddle shift.

[@jasongofandi4874]

If any of you have heard of it, this car totally reminds me of a early years (depending on the team) Formula Student or even Formula SAE car. the motorcycle engine, the suspension, space-frame chassis, uprights as well as a lever to gear shift.

[@TastierBackInThe80s]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@themardybum08]

Imagine quoting tyre pressures in bar. What an absolute vegetarian.

[@TinoushGTR]

"there's nothing like this" meanwhile his doing 30mph 😂 so fake. He didn't even rev the damn thing.

[@RobS32]

Brilliant. Vid pal 👍

[@jgbalves]

The only thing that gets me every time about this bad boy is the fact that your head is always above the top point of the roll cage

[@dickieb2233]

Well Henry, I have to thank you; I watched this on the 9th Dec and then searched for the Rocket's closest rival, the Brooke 260 Double R. The car I spotted some six yrs ago was on the market. Tomorrow it arrives at my door. 260BHP, 510 KG two seats but side by side. Designed by Toby Sutton before Gordon Murray designed the Rocket. I can't wait.

[@jamespink4202]

Thanks Henry, great review, right up my street (ex Grinnal pilot)

[@BlitzkriegRap]

Great video!

[@swississue4950]

Excelent smithers ! In all Ernest ? Where honesty's due, a wonderfully complete boy racer ! Inspirational ! Great post ! Thanks.

[@MykolaSternenkoDroneBoyHoleMan]

What camera was used to film this? Filming skills and video quality are superb! Amazing channel

[@Gorbyrev]

About the weight of a Triumph Rocket III (1st gen). Remember this being released. One if the first cars (quadracycles!) I really wanted to own. I'm sure a red one was on the cover of Car magazine. Gazed at it for hours. Great vid as ever Mr. Catchpole. Very high on the "that one please, Mr Leno" list.

[@pelper1]

This is so awesome 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@mbulelogumede6903]

Wow the sound of this thing is musical

[@chE3z1]

This was super underrated in Gran Turismo 6!

[@robreeves9825]

Great video Henry! I thought this might have been Flemke's car but it seems not.

[@arlingtonhynes]

3:00 “Prevaricating”?! And I trusted you!

[@Spencefamily1]

I was impressed by the way Henry managed to swap helmets (between black and white) while driving!

[@luismiguelrodriguezpina5122]

Fantastic film

[@jonnoMoto]

That stretch of road you're on is great, especially on a bike. Top Gear have used it a lot in the past.

[@sugarnads]

Agree with your comments on the sequential box, its definitely arse about face. Upchanges should be toward you, downshifts away.

[@janrobinson6046]

Henry... how much self tan did you apply before the shoot??? Very good vid as always, thanks mate!