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Despite what half the ads in the back of those old issues of Popular Mechanics promised, building your own car is a complex, difficult process. There’s a reason the companies that do it are listed on the NYSE and have their names on 60,000-seat stadiums.
But those big companies face big compromises from demanding customers who insist on such trivialities as “door panels” and “bumpers.” And while those features are fine if you’re into that sort of thing, plenty of residents of our world certainly appreciate the more minimalist approach, where no quarter is given in favor of performance and engagement.
Thankfully, a few companies out there have decided to leverage the economies of scale of series production for fun instead of for mass-market appeal. Recently, Fields Auto Works and its Cardinal Coupe joined the small fraternity of specialty manufacturers like Mosler, Panoz, Caterham and Ginetta that speak directly to the track enthusiast.
It’s Kinda Small but Not
Your first impression of the Cardinal Coupe is its smallness. It’s a tidy car, with little front overhang and the driver positioned in what appears to be the geometric center of the wheelbase. But yeah, it’s tiny. Early Miata tiny. But it seems even tinier than those NA Miatas, because the stretched fenders and taut bodywork give it lots of visual mass out toward the tires. The central section of the car seems extremely slight.
Then you hop in, and it all just magically opens up.
The car’s a bit of a throwback to a time when doors didn’t have to be a foot thick and body panels didn’t have to hide air bags, miles of wires and plumbing, and pound upon pound of sound-deadening material.
The Cardinal’s interior, admittedly a little tight on ingress and egress due to smallish door openings, seems like a great place to do some work. There’s ample room to throw your elbows and great visibility of the front corners, which seem almost impossibly close.
The vibe–in the car we sampled, anyway–is decidedly more race car than street car, with simple, smooth panels holding easy-to-read indicators, but the general layout inside is still roomy and hospitable. Throw in some carpet and padding and you’ll have a more than reasonable weekend…
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