Everything was perfect, weather was brilliant, wind was down and there were two exotic cars parked outside my house. Even better was the fact that shortly I would be driving them.

The Stratos started life as a Transformer HF 2000 in England. Steve Strain has always been a Lancia Stratos fan and while in the UK working with his wife Carole he happened to go to a car show in Cheshire. On display was the Transformer and Steve's interest took a new turn. However only the brochure made it back to their house that time. Over the next year the brochure was revisited several times along with the manufacturers of two other Stratos replicas. After careful study Steve decided that the Transformer was the closest to the original a kit turned up in his driveway in due course. Surprisingly Steve has never liked the name "Transformer" as it reminded him of a children's toy that was very popular at the time. He chose this car as it was a kit that did not require a high skill level and most of the parts are readily available in existing Fiats and Lancias. Ferrari Dino V6 motors were in short supply at a price that Steve could afford so he decided to make do with a Lancia Beta two litre engine. However 'making do' was using the UK built Guy Croft "fast road" 2 litre Lancia Beta motor, rated at 155hp (126hp at rear wheels at 5,000rpm). Detailing included lead proofing it for our petrol and sump baffles. On return to New Zealand the unfinished car came too with most of its necessary parts packed around it. Once in New Zealand the car was carefully finished to a very high standard. Over the years it has featured in many car shows and even spun out in the Targa Rally of New Zealand. Now after being on the road for almost 10 years it is about to have its first major heart replacement as the trusty reliable Beta motor is being replaced with a Lancia V6 which should bring its performance up to nearly identical the original 1974 Lancia Stratos which won four world rally titles. The existing engine is now for sale along with 4 spare gearboxes and numerous spare parts.

The Saker on the other hand is world famous only in New Zealand. Well, you would think so, but it is not true. Examples of this car have been sold to Japan, Australia and Holland.

A product from the fertile brain of Bruce Turnbull. The car was built as a racecar that could be driven on the road as well as the track. Having Manfield racetrack just down the road from the factory ensured some good development time. Barry Dawe, the owner of this particular Saker SV1, had developed an interesting habit of going to Palmerston North and coming back with a new project. First it had been a partially rebuilt Lotus 7 and now it was a partially built Saker. Arriving at Bruce Turnballs place in Fielding with the serious intention of buying one as a kit he saw Saker number 6 lying on the floor which was part of an estate and was up for sale. Barry decided that it would be easier to correct somebody else's problems rather than wasting time creating his own. The deal was done and short time later Barry was driving home and rapidly becoming aware of just how many problems he had purchased. The drive from Palmerston North to Wellington was not a happy one. Still he was committed to making a go of it and with much muttering and the odd bits of skin being torn the various problems were gradually sorted out. In just over a year the car was pronounced ready for the road and duly registered. Unfortunately things were still not quite right, Barry could not be called a man of great stature and due to a quirk of genes, nature would ensure that he never would be. Under no circumstances was Barry going to spend the rest of his life driving the Saker propped on a cushion and squeezing his buttocks in whenever the car had to negotiate a speed bump or his driveway. Thus it was in the cars first year on the road it had it's first nip and tuck. The floor was raised 40 millimetres.

These then are the two amazing cars, which are a credit to both their builders, which stood outside my house, temporarily raising my status in the neighbourhood.

EXTERIOR

It is a simple a case of Turnbull the designer of the Saker SV1, the Saker Sprint and the Samba Jeep, verses Bertone the stylists of the Lamborghini Mazal, Countach etc, plus the original Lancia Stratos. Both cars looked stunning and made a statement in their red livery. Whenever we stopped both cars either on the country road or outside my house in the suburbs people would always stop their cars to have a look.

Even while we were taking the photos of the two cars in a quiet country setting at the back of Kelson people from a nearby house came to have a look. The man said that he knew somebody who had a car just like the Saker. My first thought was "Yeah, right." But as it turned out we discovered that the car he was talking about belonged to Matthew Cooley. Which reinforces, I am sure, somebodies opinion that New Zealand is really a small town. While we were talking another car drove up and a mother and her two teenage children got out. Apparently the boy had seen us drive up the hill and not come back. As there is only one exit from Kelson which is in the opposite direction to which we had been travelling he had gotten his mother to drive up every street in Kelson until he found us.

Quite a mission and an understanding mother. These two cars are real crowd makers. Interestingly enough, it was the Saker that questions were asked about its Ferrari ancestry overlooking the fact that the Stratos is a not very distant cousin to the marque. Both Steve and Barry said that this attention was normal and that this was just the average day out for them.

The low profile and racing lines of the Saker that finish with a huge rear spolier shout exotic at you and the Stratos with its unique spoiler over the top of the body and its slightly less understated spoiler at the end are not quite so obvious. Visually the Saker seems to be a far bigger car but side by side it is obvious that the difference in size is more illusion than reality. The Stratos although a product of the 70's is not showing its age and is of a timeless design. Ignoring the fact that one was designed in Italy and one in our own backyard in my opinion the Stratos looks better from all angles except the rear where the Saker has the edge. The Saker will always grab the first round of attention over the Stratos but Bertone knew how to design a wonderful looking car the skill and detailing that has gone into its design is evident. By contrast the functionality of various parts, such as the rear air inlets and the size of the front wheels, of the Saker has decided its final form.

INTERIOR

The first impression in both cars was how close the pedals were together. Being mid-engined cars the cabin forward approach means that the wheel arches protrude well into the footwell areas. I had to remember to keep my size nine off the accelerator when I applied the brakes and most times I did! Having recently driven a Toyota MR2 to New Plymouth and back I expected the cars on the test would be similar.

However getting into the Saker I discovered that my 1.8m of height and slightly bigger girth than Barry's (I said slightly) was going to complicate this test. The 40mm that Barry had taken out of the floor depth would have been very handy at this point or even better, a crash helmet bulge in the roof. Getting in and out of the car was not very difficult. Using the Lamborghini style of sitting on the sill, swinging your legs in and sliding into the seat, it was quite straightforward. But shutting the door with my head in the way was not. A good slouch, a neck kink and a disprin for the head solved most of the problems and I could still work the foot pedals although my left knee tended to get in the way of the steering wheel. My right knee frequently would turn off the right indicator as I moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator. Minor gauges were easy to see but only portions of the speedo and tacho were visible. This was a problem unique to me as both Barry and Steve were able to see far more of them than me. At this point it must again be stated that both Barry and Steve built the cars to fit them and it is just a shame that Barry did not have taller parents. However that aside the upholstery and finish of the car is of a very good standard. Dashboard looks like it was made to go there and looks suited to the part. The windscreen was originally designed for the Purvis Eureka and has since been used on McLaren M6 replicas and now the Saker. There is very little interior reflection from its deep curve and vision is good from all angles except the rear, which is limited. The steering wheel is designed to move to the side to give more room to exit and enter but I found it much easier to leave it in place and to slide in.

The Stratos cabin on the other hand is far more spacious. My head brushes against the roof. (Steve is also not 1.8m tall) Entry and exit is easier than in the Saker but neither car has the ease of your average shopping basket. Then again neither car is the sort of car you would use to carry your groceries and their designers would probably be appalled if you did. The finish of the interior of the Stratos although starting to show its age is also of a very high standard and neither car has the unfinished look which some other homebuilt cars do. All gauges were in clear view and controls were easy to get to. The indicator was in the European fashion on the left-hand side, exactly the same side as in my Almac Sabre. I have no problems in the Sabre and never get the indicator position wrong but the number of times that Steve saw his wiper blade go past his eyes, as I approached a corner, must have driven him balmy. Vision in this car was better than in the Saker, it even had a rear view mirror inside the car. But rear vision was still not great. Both cars were built with the simple view that anything in the rear view was unimportant, as anything that was there should be rapidly receding!

The windscreen on the Stratos is quite different from any other car in that it is a section of a cylinder. Not the compound series of curves that all other cars have. The specific reason that Bertone designed the glass in this manner was to reduce internal reflection in the glass and it does just that. Looking through the glass there is a stark absence of bonnet with only a slight curve over the wheel arches to signify that there is any fibreglass to the front of the car. Storage space in both cars is limited but the Stratos does have the bigger boot. However if you play golf forget it.

Judging the interiors is a more difficult car as both are very close but ignoring the problems caused by my height, the Stratos is slightly more user friendly which gives it the edge.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

The first impression with both these cars is the lack of bonnet. The key item visible in front is grey tarmac and the bulges of the wheel arches. One thing both cars do very well is swallow tarmac very fast. Being mid engined both cars are noisy in the cabin under power with the Stratos being more so. The noise is not unpleasant however and the minute you take the foot off the loud pedal and drop them into fifth gear the noise vanishes and normal conversation can continue. The MR2 was no different when I drove it either. But what can you expect when you have the motor only six inches behind both your ears. Both cars were wonderful to drive with the Stratos' gearbox being easy to use and very direct. The Saker's gearbox was a little vague and first was often hard to find and it took me a while to get used to it.

Neither car is easy to drive around town and I was never totally aware of what was happening behind me or in the rear three-quarter views. Instead they are built to go fast and dominate the open road. Merging with traffic on a motorway is best done with the foot flat to the boards to ensure that you are going faster than anything coming up behind you. Not necessarily an unpleasant experience.

However the Saker had one thing the little Stratos didn't which was tons of torque. Once while hunting for first I started in third and it was not a problem. First or second gear are not really needed in this car unless of course you need to tow a Kenworth truck out of the ditch. Now that takes care of second, hmmm what would you use first for as there are very few Aussie tanks in New Zealand. Perhaps to help out getting planes onto a runway. Going up Haywards Hill it accelerated in fifth gear like most cars would in third. The suspension on the Saker was wonderfully set up. The ride was very comfortable as the car was able to soak up the bumps without giving anything away in the handling department. Steering was not power assisted and gave very good feedback to the driver.

The Stratos while not as fast as the Saker should not be called slow. Its suspension was a little more harsh but not as harsh as a RX7 that I drove recently. With its shorter wheelbase it turned into corners very quickly with great precision. It was very much a point and shoot car. Pedals were just in the right position and everything happened smoothly. Handling was such that it would probably have managed quite well on a go-kart track.

Ignoring the fact that I was too big for it the winner of this would have to the Saker which would be a nicer car to take on a long trip due to its power and greater ride comfort.

AND THE WINNER IS...

I accept that the car I am going to declare the winner will be controversial but it was me that tested the cars and this will always be an opinion rather than a fact. I also know that there are people out there who think that the Citreon 2CV is the greatest car since sliced bread. Those people should get medical advice.

Both these cars are exotics and they can not be compared to your Ford Mondeo or Datsun 120Y. For there to be a first there has to be second. In this case it must be the Stratos that takes away the Laurel wreath. It was does not make as loud a statement as the Saker but it has finesse. The detailing of the car is subtle and ageless. The Saker would make any teenage boy forget the name of his girlfriend or that he was even out on a date. She would be left at the side of the road while he rushed over to have a closer look. But it would be the Stratos that older generations would look at for the longest. The Saker would have a teenager fanaticising and most people giving it a second look. The Stratos on the other hand would cause car buffs to dream whether it was on the side of the road or passing them in traffic.

By Patrick Harlow