Kaipan 14 - it's seriously basic Bohemian
By Mark Piesing
The Kaipan 14 has a slightly menacing presence, like the slightly sideways look you get from Prague police if you get a bit too jolly on Czech beer.
The Czech influence doesn't end there though, since it's based on the outdated Skoda Favorit, a car which outlived communist rule and for which many people waited years.
But you can pick up a Favorit now for as little as 3 Czech koruny (about R1.50) over a pint so the practical and profitable blend easily with the emotional and philosophical up in the North Bohemian mountains where Kaipan is based.
Perhaps here, then, is the Czech renaissance with an almost iconic design and a stream of potential punters visiting Kaipan's pre-Second World War factory-showroom two hours north of Prague.
Young dads are willing to join the five-month waiting list for a Kaipan 14 and there are five cars in varying stages of production in the factory that turns out 10 Kaipans a month as kits and complete cars.
But then you open the Kaipan's distinctive long bonnet. and your worst fears for a car that is partly built from a second-hand Skoda Favorit seem justified.
Hidden deep within the long and cavernous engine compartment - a space that cries out for an engine worthy of the design - is a refurbished 1.3-litre Skoda Favorit engine that somehow still looks rusty.
The impression gets worse as you turn the key. The engine struggles to start; it takes three tries before it bursts into an exhausted rumble.
Then you notice the communist-era Skoda indicator stalks, instruments gauges and gear lever, along with switches that look like they're from my old toy-train set.
Crunch it into gear - the box is from the Favorit, too - and you're off. Somehow the frown becomes a smile.
The bolt-on fuel injection helps flog the old engine up to a respectable 0-100km/h in 7.5sec although the front-wheel drive doesn't make the most of it.
The lack of doors or any kind of roof gives it the edge. The grey of the tarmac caught through the bottom corner of the eye gives the thrill but the chassis is slightly raised so there's none of the tarmac-skimming madness of, say, a Caterham 7.
The spirit of the car - even though it's actually the size of a family sedan - gets you enough road space so you don't have to have to be suicidal to drive it. There's even a compartment behind the seats big enough for beer, a barbeque and a tent.
Just don't try to park it - the long bonnet and high tail make it almost impossible to tell where it begins and ends.
Kaipan quality
But get to know the car and Kaipan quality starts to show through the Skoda-ness of it all - the quality of the paint job, the firmness of the body, the modified front suspension, even the small detailing on the chrome and leather steering wheel.
Kaipan has also sourced as many new parts as possible from the industry that helps keep the Czech Republic's 250 000 Favorits wheels turning.
Perhaps to criticise the Kaipan 14 is to misunderstand its mission. It's a fun roadster that's cheap enough to leave in the garage all winter without any family complaints and it has generated enough sales in the Skoda Favorit-loving world of central and eastern Europe to enable a home-grown sports-car company to survive and grow.
Not bad for a company that relies on word of mouth and reviews rather than advertising.
A hard sell
Kaipan admits the 14 is going to be a hard sell in Western Europe - especially as the registration documents of a new Kaipan 14 still say it's a very old Skoda.
On the other side of the show-room there's a Kaipan 57, a Lotus 7 replica that shows the 14's potential.
Its custom-built, rear-wheel drive chassis, 1.8-litre Audi turbo engine and top-end specification - including a smooth new fascia - combined with the body of a Kaipan 14 would make a killer combination.
Which is exactly what Kaipan intends to do after sales enquiries from the UK stumbled at the Favorit connection. - The Independent, London
Specifications
Price
:
Complete car: About R182 000
Cheapest kit: R60 500
Engine:
Skoda Favorit 1.3.
Transmission:
Five-speed, front-wheel drive.
Body:
Tubular-steel chassis, composite body.
Top speed:
140km/h, 0-100km/h 7.5sec.