The Locost is a self-build car, originally designed in the UK, but now being built worldwide. It is not a 'kit' car, as there is no company manufacturing and selling a complete kit to buy, or any instruction manual to follow.

However, there is a set of guidelines laid down in the book Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250, written by a talented mechanical engineer known as Ron Champion.

The finished product looks very similar to a Caterham or Westfield, since they are all variations of the original Lotus 7 developed by Colin Chapman, the original Lotus man.

For those not familiar with the Lotus 7, imagine one of those old fashioned roller skates, the ones that you had to strap over your shoes, increase its size ten-fold, and throw in an engine and all the other bits that make it a car. It has only two seats, and sits a mere three to six inches off the ground and weighs less than half of small cars like a Ford Fiesta, or Vauxhall (Opel) Nova.

Having a low centre of gravity, and a drastically reduced weight, the car handles, and accelerates superbly, making this an all round great 'summer' car for those on a budget.