Road test: 2002 Westfield SEiGHT - April 2002
story by Shane O' Donoghue, pictures by Mark Sims
Given our weather, it is strange to think that the British public buys so many open-topped sportscars. You need only glance into the busy Westfield factory in the West Midlands to know that the market is flourishing. Thankfully, the day The Car Enthusiast picked up the purple SEiGHT, the British weather was uncharacteristically hot and bright. Not only would this make driving the car much more pleasurable, the risk of spinning the V8-powered beast was reduced to acceptable limits...
If you haven't driven anything like the Westfield SEiGHT before, then it is a bit of a culture shock. There is a knack to getting in, for instance. The doors are thin fabric, oh, and everybody will look at you. It is hard to say if this attention comes about from the minimalist styling of the car (inside and out) or the rumble at idle from the 3.9-litre V8. That engine is the very heart of the SEiGHT. It turns a quick, nimble sportscar into a supercar. How does 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds grab you? By the proverbials if you were where I was sitting. The SEiGHT is obscenely fast. Then again, 200 bhp and a whopping 319 Nm of torque (at only 2600 rpm!) will not have too much of a task to move the feather-weight chassis along.
The structure combines the low weight of a spaceframe construction with independent wishbones and adjustable shocks at each corner. The car immediately feels well tied down, with reassuringly stiff settings on the dampers. Remember that the Westfield is not designed to cosset on the motorway. Saying that, it is quite refined at speed, soaking up most potholes. Though we did find one open stretch of B-road that caught the suspension out, leading to an unnerving side to side swaying of the body. In reality, the road was probably more at fault than the car. With regards to actual road holding, the Westfield easily competes with so-called supercars. The chassis is wonderfully adjustable on the throttle, with lurid tail slides always a possibility if you are feeling like a hooligan. If you enjoy getting the most out of a car though, it allows you to drive smoothly, and ridiculously quickly. Not that the few hours I had with the car were enough to give a detailed description of the nuances of the experience.
So far, I have pointed out some of the car's outstanding features, such as its acceleration, which allows for safe overtaking in almost any gear, and the capable, fun chassis. I seem to have neglected to mention the noise. At idle, the V8 throbs, and shakes the road. Under hard acceleration, the engine comes to life with a banshee-like scream, revving easily beyond 5000 rpm. Any innocent bystander may well think that the mythical wailing creature is warning of their impending demise; such is the ferocity of the noise and movement. TVR may also have used this engine, but the note is muted in comparison to the SEiGHT. Most road cars can not touch the Westfield for this experience.
The controls are all beautifully weighted when moving along. The gear change is direct and short, though not lightning quick - not that it needs to be with so much torque on tap. The brakes on the example we drove incorporated racing-specification pads, which feel unusual if you are not used to them, though of course they are more than capable of hauling the car down from high speed. Which will be pretty much unavoidable if you drive this car regularly.
Meeting up with Mark Sims for the photography gave me time to get my breath back and ponder actually owning this car (a re-mortgage is looking tempting). I can't imagine ever tiring of the noise and pure adrenaline rush of driving this car. The interior is not as comfy say as a Ford Focus, but who cares? I must admit, we were lucky with the weather, not having to use the fold-up roof, but then again, one day of sunshine in this car is well worth the other 364 days of rain in the year. Perhaps it is not so strange to understand why the British love their sportscars.
We will be visiting the factory again soon, but if you would like more information about Westfield Sportscars, drop by their website - www.westfield-sportscars.co.uk.
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