What was supposed to be a simple project turned into intense effort – and became a work of art

Tom Fowler knows a thing or two about nicely built race cars, but Alan Cross’s Super Touring Lite RX-8 blew him away. Built from an ex-Pirelli World Challenge car and what was slated to be a parts car, this race car is now built with detailed craftsmanship. “The car is absolutely a work of art,” the principal of prep shop OPM Autosports says. “People stop, non-stop, to see it in the paddock.

“We did a lot of the mechanical work – put in the engine, dyno’d it, etc., but [Cross] did everything else himself,” says Fowler. “He put the suspension in, the fuel cell, he designed the entire dash, all the wiring, gauges, relays…. It’s absolutely beautiful. It looks like a surgeon built it.”

Well, a surgeon did build it. Alan Cross is an engineer-turned-veterinarian, but more than that, he’s a veterinary orthopedic surgeon, helping heal animals’ broken bones. But, as he says, he needs a project. A recent one was an electric motorcycle that he built from the ground up and has been featured in a variety of publications. The RX-8 is the latest.

Read the full story at MazdaMotorsports.com