Radical SR1 XXR 2024 Track Tested and Raced

Radical has updated its entry-level racing car for the third time, releasing the SR1 XXR halfway through 2023 with a package of changes that includes fresh electronics, revised aerodynamics, and a fifth-generation version of its 1340cc engine. The car is based on Suzuki’s Hayabusa motorcycle engine but rebuilt by Radical’s own RPE division. The new Gen 5 engine is designed to last longer — with 80 hours between rebuilds — and features drive-by-wire electronics and a revised exhaust system.

The original SR1 launched in 2012 and was comprehensively updated in 2017. This third-generation car also gets an LMP-style central dorsal fin and redesigned bodywork that looks more contemporary than before. It is still a tiny machine, less than 3.9 meters long and just over a meter high.

Rather than a standard track test, the car was experienced in the most direct way possible: by racing it. The SR1 XXR was entered in the opening round of the SR1 Cup, Radical’s dedicated race series for the machine, now run as a separate class within the wider Radical Cup. The SR1s share the grid with the faster SR3 category, which has a bigger engine, wider dimensions, more downforce, and slick tires.

The SR1 Cup used to be open only to novice drivers, who got their license test, a race suit, and two introductory test days all included in the price of the vehicle. Drivers could race for two seasons before moving on. Now, drivers of all experience levels can enter, but the series is still positioned as the first step on the Radical ladder. Previous champions include James Pinkerton, now head of R&D at Radical, and Darryl de Leon, who races in the British Touring Car Championship.

Getting back in the car after eight years, it felt quite different from the original. The engine note is lower and gruffer compared with the old vehicle’s banshee shriek. The original SR1 was all about managing oversteer — which made it fun but mentally draining over a race distance.