Brooke Double R. Sneaks into the lineup of small but incredibly fast sports cars. It was released a while ago, but has been updated and improved by two experienced engineers, and this beautiful and compact car is now in production. You get tremendous acceleration and curves for your money.

The performance is exciting, and depends on how much power you want. The most powerful Brooke Double R – 300 hp – has a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds, while the 260 hp will get you to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds, and all the excitement that comes with that performance. To match it, you’ll need a Noble M400 or Porsche 911 Turbo.

Clearly, the Brooke Double R is a real firework. The fact that the top speed is only 155 mph—the same speed many supercars are electronically limited to—isn’t the truth. Acceleration, braking and cornering is what gives the real thrill of driving fast, and you will get it here.

Most of these open-wheel vehicles have front-wheel drive, but the Brooke Double R has a mid-mounted 2.3-liter Cosworth Ford engine that develops 190, 260, or 300 hp depending on your choice. It’s just like a scaled-down version of a mid-engined race car, just a little wider for two people.

optimal weight distribution

For near perfect weight distribution, the motor is mounted front and rear rather than transverse. With the engine mounted across the frame in unit with the transmission, you’re getting a little extra weight in the rear. On the other hand, with the engine in front of the transmission, you get better weight distribution and a slimmer body—just what the guys who designed the Brook Double R wanted.

Five-speed transmission

To make this work, they had to find a good transmission at a realistic price. Brooke opted for the Renault’s five-speed unit, as a six-speed would have cost much more. You might think a six-speed box was mandatory these days, but that’s not the case for road use. With five well-chosen ratios, you can get the same performance as with a six-speed, which often has very high gears in the upper two or even three gears.

The car is encased in a sleek, simple bodywork with a small wrap-around windshield, and bike-type fenders—it looks just like a 1960s race car. The headlights are hidden and manually raised. Everything is nice and simple.

The cockpit is like a racer, too

The cockpit is also simplicity itself – not at all quiet on the spot! You sit behind a small Momo steering wheel, with a flat bottom section, and a large rev counter tucked into an instrument cluster on one side. The gear lever is on the other side of the normal position – like in old racing cars – and on right-hand drive cars it is on the right and vice versa.

There’s a neat pedal box with pedals flush to the floor – as in the best cars – and a simple, molded seat.

You can have a very low windshield or a little taller. Both are still low with no room for the wipers – they really are wind deflectors to look at. Choose the lower helmet, and you’ll want to wear a helmet at speeds over 75 mph, despite the dual headrests.

Cosworth Ford up to 300 hp

When choosing a Cosworth-Ford engine, Brooke went for quality and ease of obtaining parts for maintenance. Cosworth supplies a range of Ford tuned engines, which have been tuned to provide the durability needed to produce power, and as they are in-line four-cylinder units they are compact.

The base model comes with 190 horsepower, then you can move up to 260 horsepower at 7,500 rpm with 200 lb-ft (271 lb-ft) of torque at 6,100 rpm, or you can get all-out power with the 300-horsepower unit.

Suspension and steering are on classic lines, with double wishbones front and rear, from the aileron section because they need to glide through the air, with aluminum alloy uprights. Coil springs and adjustable dampers are fitted front and rear.

Buy a 190hp Brooke Double R and you’ll spend around $50,000 (£27,995) but if you want a crazy version with the potential to lose your 300hp license, you’ll need to shell out around $70,000 (£36,995). It will help if you live where there is a lot of sunshine and not much rain!