Solved - NEH 3521: Thompson Special Kairos by Derek Thompson

[Carnut]

What's this, by whom - for 1 point?:

ANYONE FOUND GIVING ANSWERS OBTAINED BY USING GOOGLE SEARCH BY IMAGE MAY BE BANNED FOR AN INDETERMINATE PERIOD, AND THIS PUZZLE IS ONLY OPEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR AGREEMENT TO THAT IN THE THREAD IN THE NEWS AND INFORMATION SECTION.

[Carnut]

Experts?

[ValkyrieGT]

GT15 Avenger kit car by Fiberfab.

[Carnut]

GT15 Avenger kit car by Fiberfab.

Well, yes, that's what the body looks like (though its builder didn't admit that..)

But this particular car has a name of its own which I need for the point, along with the name of its builder.

[Carnut]

Professionals?

[nicanary]

I had this photo on file to use for a puzzle myself, but deleted it when the time came, because I couldn't find the original webpage to check the details! Such is life......

[sixtee5cuda]

Power by General Motors?

[Carnut]

Power by General Motors?

No.

[WayneB]

Looking at the rear wheels it may be powered by a Ford Probe SHO V6 engine.

[Carnut]

Looking at the rear wheels it may be powered by a Ford Probe SHO V6 engine.

You're right!

[WayneB]

Its called the Thompson Special Kairos.

Its powered by a Ford Probe SHO engine (the one designed by Yamaha)

The owner uses it in US Autocross events.

[Carnut]

Yes, you're right!
I just need to know who built it for the point, so it's locked for you to say.

[nicanary]

It's all come back to me now - too late. I remember that it sounded like a brand of aftershave.

[WayneB]

Derek Thompson.

In defence of Valkyrie GT's earlier answer he  (the builder) says in the article I found that it started out as a Fiberfab Avenger.

[Carnut]

Derek Thompson.

In defence of Valkyrie GT's earlier answer he  (the builder) says in the article I found that it started out as a Fiberfab Avenger.

That's it, yes.
Valkyrie was of course right in what the bodywork was, but that wasn't the answer I was looking for as that much was pretty obvioius!
Well done.

[ValkyrieGT]

I was not going to search any further than I did. I dont give credit to people who call a car they have built...as something other than what the original manufacturer, called the car. I could have said GT12 Avenger Fiberfab, which would have meant it was VW based...but it is not...it is a GT15 Avenger Fiberfab, which was corvair based with a custom tube chassis. Obviously the person who plaguerized the name of the car, put his own powertrain into a base model GT15 Avenger Fiberfab. Heck, what if I said my car is not an Allied Fiberglass Astra VW GT? What if I called it something else? Just because my car has the only type of modified bodywork in the world(it is still a Allied Fiberglass Astra VW GT)no matter its uniqueness.

[Carnut]

Well, you're right up to a point.
But here we are dealing with specifics and there was one particular car for which the identity is required.
Hence it is not "A Fiberfab Avenger" but "The Thompson Special Kairos". That's what the game is about.

[oko94]

Wasn't the bodywork altered as well ? It looks like the edges are more pronounced compared to a stock Avenger.

[Carnut]

Wasn't the bodywork altered as well ? It looks like the edges are more pronounced compared to a stock Avenger.

Maybe.  Or maybe he just copied an Avenger because I believe in the thread where the picture came from it said he built the body from scratch..  Though builders of kit-cars often say that, meaning they put the whole kit together themselves, which is something rather different from scratch-building a car!