He'd had the help of some very good friends in his country to get the car to this point, so, tired and beaten from the grind, Diego still managed to debut the car at Knott's, but it wasn't a driver and it wasn't finished to the standards he had set for it. But considering what he had accomplished--building a car from scratch with less tools than what you'd find in a basic high school shop class in the United States--is nothing short of a miracle. The opportunity generated interest in Diego's vehicle, and after he created the www.DDRMotorsport.com Web site, people who had seen or heard about the car could follow up with him on what his next step would be: mass production.
For this next level, Diego enlisted the help of Kerry Hitt, a composite and fiberglass expert based in Pennsylvania who helped him in 2004 when Diego needed information on pulling the molds off his car. Kerry is FAA-approved for making fiber-reinforced parts for airplanes, and he is also big in the Corvette racing world and the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series (having personally won the Grand American AGT Driver Championship in 2002). Hitt offers different racing body kits for Corvette owners (see the www.acpmotorsports.com Web site for more on Advanced Composite Products), and feels there is a future in what Diego has brought to the table.
Hitt and Diego are currently working out the details to produce the chassis and bodies in the United States, possibly adding more carbon fiber pieces and even a V-8 powertrain to the mix. The current car is called the DDR SP4 (a sport prototype with a four-cylinder engine), but the eight-cylinder version will be called the SP8, with possible Corvette suspension and a Porsche G50 transaxle. At 2,280 pounds, the car should scream with a V-8 powerplant! Future versions should also include righthand drive versions for the Japanese, Australian, and U.K. markets.
Hitt's shop is also close to the Carlisle Fairgrounds, where the Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals are held, so spring 2006 was the perfect opportunity to bring the car to the show with a small crew--this time as a driver. Onlookers were slack-jawed when they walked up to the car, and if he'd charged a quarter to answer everyone's question of "What is it?" he would have made back his investment! The show went well for Diego, and more folks will undoubtedly be driven to the DDR Web site for updates.
To keep on top of the project's next phase, Diego is looking into moving to the U.S.--yet another major step in realizing his dream. He's already set up shop in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but the cars will be built (with kits being offered at $23,700) and shipped out of Hitt's shop in Pennsylvania.
Though he can't tell the future, he's sure by the traffic on his Web site, plus the comments people have made so far about his car, he has something people want. Focusing on getting it to them is what Diego Grullon is now committed to working out. KC