It’s Monday night and I get a message on my mobile, inviting me to go to the race track to test drive the Westfield race car – it was kind of last minute, but a chance to drive on the Sepang International Circuit in an open seater is something you do... [+ click to enlarge] The Westfield is a kit car for racing enthusiasts. 2.0 litre 170 horse engine is good for 0-100 in 5.4 seconds Spartan interior only has what matters. You can find your true self driving one of these cars

It’s Monday night and I get a message on my mobile, inviting me to go to the race track to test drive the Westfield race car – it was kind of last minute, but a chance to drive on the Sepang International Circuit in an open seater is something you don’t get an invite to everyday – so I set the alarm for 6.30 in the morning, and although my wife had to nudge me (quite hard, and twice), I was on my way by 7.45 am this morning, and by 8.15, was parking my car at the paddock car park in Sepang.
Making my way towards the pits marked by the Westfield buntings, I was greeted by an array of 12 Westfield Cars. Ten of them were ‘bare’ race cars, built up to the minimum requirements for racing use, while two units were built as two-seaters, and of these, there was one that had headlights and turn signals fitted – and was turbocharged.
The group was small, made up of about 10 Westfield staff who were in charge of managing the cars, and the Westfield marketing and sales team who were there to manage the media, a few test drivers, and some potential ‘customers’. As far as we media were concerned, it was either to go as a passenger in the two-seater, or drive on our own, or do both- simple and straight forward.
The Westfield AeroRace Car is a kit car built up using a tubular chassis, with aluminium and composite panels. Inside the frame is a front-mounted naturally aspirated DOHC 2.0 litre Ford Zetec engine pushing out 170 horsepower. Drive is to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox. Zero to 100kph takes 5.4 seconds, and top speed is 240 kph.
The Ford Zetec engine is a production engine, which in ‘off-the-shelf’ form is rated at 145 horsepower, but in the Westfied car, it is fitted with quad throttle bodies on the intake side, and a 4-2-1 exhaust extractor, complete with a catalytic converter. The extra goodies up the power to 170, but the real secret of the lightning acceleration and the high top speed is the fact that the entire car weighs in at 525 kilograms, which makes it lighter than the Lotus Exige by about 200 kg. To be fair, the Lotus is a road-going car with air-conditioning, two seats, and even a radio – similarly, the two-seater Westfield with the turbo-charger and the ‘street’ fittings was also 200 kg heavier.
The suspension is made up of independent wishbones for front and rear, and is fully adjustable. Race springs are fitted, and these can be changed to suit any track conditions. Brakes are four-pot front and two-pot rear with ultra-light aluminium calipers. Brake bias is adjustable. Wheels are 13-inch Team Dynamics race wheels fitted with Toyo 205/60R13 RS888 Semi-slicks. The brake discs may look small, being housed within the 13-inch wheels, but due to the light weight of the car, and the multi-pot construction, they are very effective. True to the tradition of a race car, there is no servo assistance.
Anti-roll bars at the front and rear keep body roll to a minimum. For the driver, there is an FIA-approved racing bucket, plus a five-point racing harness. The Westfield comes complete with an FIA-approved full roll cage, and a Lifeline fire extinguisher system. Instrumentation consists of a LCD Digital Race Dash Meter with data logging and GPS positioning capabilities.

I started out driving the two-seater turbo-charged version – this is the one with the passenger seat and the headlights. From what I understand, this is the car that HICOM-POTENZA, the importers and owners of the Westfield, are using to ‘homologate’ the Westfied as a road-legal car.
Getting in and out of the Westfield requires you to be a little of a contortionist, but you don’t have to worry – it is not that difficult once you know how – the trick is to step onto the front floor-board one foot at a time, until both your feet are in, then grab hold of the cage, and slide your feet forward towards the pedals while positioning your torso into the bucket seat. If you are very big, this might be a slight problem – anyway, if you want to be fast in a car like this, especially if you are competing against others, losing some weight definitely helps.
The turbo-charged version is said to have ‘over 200 horses’, (unverified), and is in every way as fast as the much lighter and naturally aspirated Westfield – the power delivery is good, but you must be careful with the throttle out of corners as the additional thrust from the turbo tends to make the rear wheels step out of line. The cars had apparently just been unboxed, and there has been no set-up done – the rear could do with a bit stiffer setting to minimise the tendency of the tail stepping out, but other than that, the car is great.
At my age, I thought that I would be slow in the Westfield, seeing as my sense of ‘feeling’ and my reflexes are not what they used to be when I was racing in the old days, but to my pleasant surprise, the Westfield actually allows me to be as one with the car. Being an open seater, you get a real sensation of speed with the wind blowing by you. Without the brake servo, you actually feel the wheels as you stand on the brakes.
I had Hezeri, my dear counterpart from TopGear Malaysia riding shotgun with me, which added (I reckon) another 100 kg to the car, notwithstanding the fact that the left-right weight distribution is a little lop-sided, but still the Westfield gave a good account of itself. I managed to get in what I thought was a good lap – until I got into the race version later.
When it was my turn to drive the race (lighter) version of the Westfield, it was supposed to be the two-seater, but due to some last minute adjustments from the nice people at Westfield, I was relegated into the race version (single seater, bare car of 525 kg) – this one I really enjoyed.
Whereas with the turbo-charged engine, all that I could hear was the exhaust roar that is akin to a jet engine, I could hear the throaty intake and the sweet-sounding exhaust all the time in the naturally aspirated Westfield. Although it has fewer horses, the driving feel and acceleration is just as good, if not better than the turbo version.
With the naturally aspirated engine, I was able to control the throttle better, squeezing just enough to keep it on line through the corners, and the more linear response to throttle without having to contend with the sudden turbo boost makes driving a whole lot more fun.
Perhaps it was because I had become more familiar with the behaviour of the car, or perhaps it was just me finding myself again after such a long time of inactivity in motor sports, but I was actually going faster and faster. Without a doubt it was also partly due to the fact that the naturally aspirated Westfield drives better – with 200 kg less, it definitely stops better, and whereas I had previously started braking at 150 metres before turn 1, I found that I could comfortably slow down enough even if I braked at 80 metres. Maybe it is the weight distribution, but the naturally aspirated Westfield has zero ‘twitch’ under braking. And maybe this time I had no passenger beside me, but the NA Westfield handled better in the negative camber Turn 5, and the switch-over from a left turn into the right turn of Turn 6 was more seamless.
The gear ratios are just about right – you use second in turns one, two, and four. Turns five and six are taken in third, and turns seven and eight can be taken in one single line in third. Turns nine, fourteen and fifteen are also second gear corners, and you can snatch fifth gear for a few seconds on both the straights. All the others are taken in third, whilst turn 12, which is a fast left hander can be taken in fourth if you are brave enough.
According to the Westfield people, there is a plan to run a one-make series using the Westfield. Details are sketchy, but you can either buy one straight off for RM180k, or pay RM25k for a driving seat for three races.
The arithmetic aside, the Westfield is one car that can be considered if you are a true driving enthusiast. It is a basic car built primarily for racing use, and will bring out the best in you as a race driver. Thanks, Kamil, for the drive.