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Sydney Motorsport Park played host to the New South Wales Motor Race Championships Round 2 qualifying sessions which included Supersports, Sports Sedans, Formula Cars, Improved Production, Formaula Vee and the Veloce Alfa catergory racing.
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Time to Start Your Racing Career With This $6,500 Formula Vee Race Car

Being a race car driver feels akin to being an astronaut. Think about it; they both go fast, require a bit of training, and they tend to be involved with or adjacent to (AKA wears camo a lot) the military. Aside from those weak comparisons, they are both occupations that many kids want to be …
by Peter Corn
Published on
2 min read

Being a race car driver feels akin to being an astronaut. Think about it; they both go fast, require a bit of training, and they tend to be involved with or adjacent to (AKA wears camo a lot) the military. Aside from those weak comparisons, they are both occupations that many kids want to be when they grow up, and few actually get to. At least for racing, the biggest hindrance tends to be a financial barrier, but here’s your chance to hop that barrier and build your own Formula Vee kit car racer for cheap. 

Formula Vee was started in the ‘60s to be a low-cost way into serious racing. These little open-wheel racers utilize many parts from VW beetles hence the name, Formula Vee. Even though they are made out of mismatched arts from the people’s car, these mini rockets can hit 120mph and corner up to 1.7 Gs of lateral force.

How to get a Formula Vee kit car

Thanks to the folks at Silodrome who sourced this auction, you can throw in a bid on a Formula Vee kit car which will be in the RM Sotheby’s auction in late October. Don’t let the Sotheby’s name freak you out. These kits are valued between $4,500-$6,500. So, you could have your very own race car for less than a newer Honda Civic. I’ll take that all day. 

What’s so cool about Formula Vee? 

The rich folks who are weekend warrior-ing their Ferraris, Aston Martins, or BMW track day cars or what have you, have a slew of computers and driver-assist features that keep them from killing themselves and destroying their fancy cars. You’ll find no such feature on the Formula Vee cars. 

Sydney Motorsport Park played host to the New South Wales Motor Race Championships Round 2 qualifying sessions which included Supersports, Sports Sedans, Formula Cars, Improved Production, Formaula Vee and the Veloce Alfa catergory racing.
Formula Vee racers | Mitchell Burke/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Part of the beauty of this formula series being for the every-man (or woman), these cars have very strict rules for how they must be built. These restrictions keep someone with deep pockets from walking in and buying a superior car with more capability. As a result, the Vee cars don’t have any such driver aids or even ABS for that matter.

Not for the faint of heart

These restrictions not only keep the costs low but also show a driver’s real skill level. For this reason, many Formula 1 champions started in Formula Vee. Without those aids, the driver is solely in control of the car. So not only is cheap, it’s one of the more demanding series for a racer. 

Wolfgang Prejawa in a Formula Vee leads Graham Engel out of the Esses.Practice at the Warick Farm motor Racing circuit for the RAC of Australia Trophy Race meeting tomorrow..
Formula Vee | Richard John Pinfold/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

The basics of a Formula Vee car

According to Silodrome, all Formula Vee cars start with a tubular steel space frame chassis. Although these cars are famously light, the chassis are purposely over-built for safety and longevity. Next comes the stock VW beetle motor, transmission, drum brakes, and suspension. 

The Vee car bodies are typically either molded fiberglass or formed aluminum. Unlike other high-end race series, they cannot use any sort of wing or other aerodynamic bodywork. 

Now is the time to step into your seven-year-old-selfs dream and become a formal racing driver. Y’all better get to it before I snatch it up.   

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Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.