Westfield SEight

Last updated

Westfield SEiGHT
Westfield seight front.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Westfield Sportscars
Production 1991-2010
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Layout FR layout
Powertrain
Engine Rover V8
Transmission Rover SD1, Borg Warner T5, or Rover R380
Dimensions
Length 3,340 mm (131 in)
Width 1,610 mm (63 in)
Curb weight From 657 kg (1,448 lb)

The SEiGHT (pronounced variously as S-8 or 'Sayt') is a sports car manufactured as a kit or factory built vehicle by Westfield Sportscars. It is based on the familiar Lotus Seven concept, created by Colin Chapman, whose design philosophy was to strip a car design down to bare essentials for the ultimate in driving experiences. Bar a few visual differences, such as a bonnet bulge to house the large engine, it uses the same widebody chassis as the smaller engined SEi. All SEiGHTs are defined as such by the powerplant - a V8 engine. In kit form they are only available from the factory as a rolling chassis, unlike other Westfield kits which can be bought in component form.

Kit car automobile that the buyer assembles into a functioning car

A kit car is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham.

Westfield Sportscars are manufacturers of both factory built and kit versions of several two-seater, open top sportscars. Their main product line is a Lotus Seven inspired car - vehicles originally designed by Colin Chapman with only the bare essentials for motoring in order to give the rawest and most exhilarating driving experience.

Lotus Seven car model

The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars between 1957 and 1972.

Contents

Westfield ended production of the SEiGHT in December 2010.

Powerplant

The Rover V8 engine powerplant of the SEiGHT ranges from 3.5 litre units originally sourced from the Rover SD1 to bored and stroked 5.2 litre units. There are also 3.9 fuel injected versions, which are currently provided in the factory built vehicles and TVR Power engines of 4.2 litres. On the whole the V8 is a Rover unit, an alloy block which is lighter than the cast iron blocks of many V8s. One example has been built around an alloy version of the Chevrolet small block with a displacement of 6.6 litres.

Rover V8 engine

The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder heads and cylinder block, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide range of vehicles from Rover and other manufacturers since its British debut in 1967.

Rover SD1 executive car

The Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of executive cars built by the Specialist Division of British Leyland (BL), under the Rover marque. It was produced through its Specialist, Rover Triumph and Austin Rover divisions from 1976 until 1986, when it was replaced by the Rover 800. The SD1 was marketed under various names. In 1977 it won the European Car of the Year title.

Chevrolet small-block engine

The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of V8 automobile engines used in normal production by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors between 1955 and 2003, using the same basic engine block. Referred to as a "small block" for its comparative size relative to the physically much larger Chevrolet big-block engines, the family spanned from 262 cu in (4.3 L) to 400 cu in (6.6 L) in displacement.

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