This motorcycle-powered mini moonshiner is just a go-kart for the street
Are you currently facing a car-buying conundrum? At a stalemate trying to pick between an open-top, flyweight race car powered by a high-strung motorcycle engine and a ridiculous miniature car to participate in your local Shriner’s parade? I have found the car for you.
This former Legends race car is currently for sale at Cherokee Auto Group in Canton, Georgia, at an asking price of $16,890.
Legends racing is intended to be a low-cost wheel-to-wheel competition that uses scaled-down, fiberglass-bodied vehicles based on the fat-fendered designs of late ‘30s American cars. Think old-school NASCAR. They look amazing and the racing action can be every bit as exciting as their full-scale brethren. What makes this particular Legends racer interesting is that it has been fitted with lights and, somehow, registered for street use. Its odometer show an impressive 11,782 miles.
With a wheelbase as short as its VIN (it’s only got 9 digits), this open-top, single-seat, 5/8-scale version of a 1937 Ford looks like it would be a blast on back roads. For some perspective, Legends cars are similar in overall length to an original Mini, but with rear-wheel drive. They’re also lighter and have much more room for rubber. It may not be the most comfortable road trip option, but grip should not be an issue.
This example is powered by a 1250-cc Yamaha engine, which is the same air-cooled four-cylinder you’d find in an XJR1300. In production trim, they produce just over 100 horsepower and sound great wound up to their 8000-rpm power peak. Unlike the current Legends racers, which now use a fuel-injected Yamaha FZ08 engine, this street-legal racer is carbureted. Behind the engine is a five-speed manual transmission.
The price tag is bit high for a toy, but if you’re handy with a carb synchronizer, don’t mind driving solo, and want one heck of a conversation starter at every canyon road turnout you’ll ever meet, a street-legal Legends car makes for an interesting proposition.
