Let me talk about the running gear. Factory Five is famous for our strong and light chassis. In this case, we have designed a space-frame consistent with our tradition. Owing to the fact that this is a "World" car, (which means we intend to export this car, and it will be built in both the U.S. and around the world), the running gear HAD to come from a vehicle that is available around the world. We decided to use parts from the Subaru Impreza/WRX product line, wagon and sedan, model years 2002-2007. Some parts from earlier year cars will work but not enough to be true single donor.
The main reason the Subaru was chosen was the layout, a longitudinal mid-mounted flat 4 with a transaxle attached gives fantastic balance, low center of gravity and most importantly a very low total vehicle weight. Some guys have questioned our decision to use the WRX parts, asking why we didn't run front wheel drive parts from a Civic or a Focus, etc.. To accomplish our aggressive target build cost, the car needed to be a true single donor. Using a FWD chassis such as a Civic or Focus would only provide suspension and brakes for one end of the car adding cost. Other reasons for choosing the Subaru parts is that Subaru is known for making big power reliably, the aftermarket is enormous, and the customer base is strong and passionate.
In all likelihood the flat 6 boxer will not be part of our plan because any amount of extra space will be incorporated into the cockpit. 2-4 Inches may not seem like much but in terms of leg room it can be all the difference.
The design goal behind this car is very straightforward, the car must be simple, lightweight, affordable, and easy to build in countries around the world. The emphasis will be on handling and driving fun rather than on the 200 mph exotic or the everyday commuter. The majority of the cars we sell are street cars and this will not be an exception, so full lighting, covered wheels, and safety items will all be incorporated but not much beyond that in terms of luxury type stuff. To keep things simple this will be an elemental performance based street car first but with a roll bar/structure sufficient for track days. The suspension is a double A-arm/multilink with Koni coil-overs on all corners (we will not use the Subaru struts). In terms of what we will use from the Subaru, the goal is everything possible that doesn't compromise the design goal. We won't utilize the unibody but at this point every other piece is fair game (ok, probably not the headliner either).
