Today on RareCarsOnly we are going to be discussing a car that comes with almost no press, no photos, and no information whatsoever, but today, we’re going to change that. This is the ‘Battleship Grey’ carbon-fiber bodied 1997 Riley & Scott MKII Hunter Roadster. This car was created by a company formerly known as Riley & Scott Cars Inc., which was an American racing constructor and racing team that mainly provided chassis for various forms of motorsport. The MKII Hunter Roadster (shown here) was Bob Riley and Mark Scott’s first ever (and last ever) road-legal street car. Initially, Riley & Scott had plans of putting this model into limited production at a cost of around $285,000 a piece, and based on their previous racing history, things seemed promising. Riley & Scott as a racing team has had a great deal of success in the motorsport world. From 1995-2006 the team would participate in 181 total events, winning 46 of those events, most notably achieving 24 consecutive Trans-Am wins. The initial plans for the Hunter was to develop something that could either be used on the street or on the track, with hopes of having Hunter MKII’s on the grid at Le Mans. The Hunter was an all-American effort, however, the car did use a number of sourced parts from other non-American vehicles. For example, the windshield and wiper system are pulled directly off of a Toyota Celica. Another notable design features on this car include the Borla stainless-steel exhaust system hidden in the sills, similar to the design of the first Viper. Things were going well until in 1999, a company known as Reynard Motorsport, which was formerly the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s, purchased Riley & Scott inc. as part of an expansion. Just a couple of years later, Reyndard Motorsport would file for bankruptcy in 2001, and that inevitably took down Riley & Scott inc. along with it.
How many made? 1 of 1 (possibly 2?)
Engine: (Kinetics Racing Engines) 8229cc 502-cubic-inch V8 - 569hp
Debut: N/A
0-60mph: 3.9 seconds (claimed)
Top Speed: 180mph (claimed)
Photo Credit: Riley & Scott Inc. & @caranddriver & allcarindex.com
Research: @rarecarsonly