Vehicle Description
1970 Royale RP4
Concept: Bob King
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Estimate: $80,000 - $100,000
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Engine: Lotus Alloy Block Twin Cam
Dual Carburetor / 200+HP
5-Speed Gearbox
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The Marque: The RP4 was the first sports car design offered by the
English racing car company Royale, which was known at the time for
building quick Formula Fords. It was designed by Bob Marston to
compete in the Firestone sponsored F100 championship in 1970. At
that time, the challenge in building a successful 2 seater sports
racer, was making the chassis stiff enough with the large open
cockpit in the middle of the car. Marston's idea was to build a
light tubular space frame and wrap the center section with stressed
aluminum panels to produce a semi-monocoque frame. This kept the
center of the car from flexing. He then added the suspension from
the proven RP-3 formula Ford and covered the whole thing in very
attractive fiberglass bodywork. Power came from a 1300cc pushrod
Ford 4 cylinder engine and a Hewland 4-speed gearbox. Over the
years, the car was upgraded to 1600cc and 5-speed gearboxes, with
the final version being the RP-6, which had wider wheels and tires,
a lower profile nose and fender flares. In 1970, Royale driver Ray
Allen was virtually unbeatable in the F100 championship, winning
nearly every race. "That was a great little car," he said. "It was
quick straight out of the box and I had absolutely no trouble
winning the championship. You just couldn't go wrong with that
car". The same can certainly be said today, as the car is still a
killer in its class in vintage racing.
The Car: The RP4 eing offered here was owned and campaigned by Hugh
Kleinpeter, former owner of Royale USA. Since 1999, the car has
been in the care of Andy Greene Sports & Vintage Race Cars, LLC,
which upgraded, sorted and campaigned the car for several owners.
It has 14 first place finishes, and one championship to its credit
in HSR. The current specs are; 200+HP Lotus twin cam engine, with
alloy block, built by Savannah Race Engineering. It has a Hewland
MK8 5-speed gearbox, upgraded front brakes, right-hand shift
conversion, Koni shocks, RP-6 suspension upgrades, CV joint axles
and more aerodynamic RP6 nose at 1050 lbs. it's ready to race. The
car was completely gone over in 2014, with a new fuel cell, rebuilt
shocks, new aluminum radiator, and a new nose. In 2016, Elliot
Forbes Robinson drove the car in the Mitty at Rd. Atlanta, and beat
Doc Bundy in a Lotus 23B in a great fight for the group 3 win. With
the right driver, this car is a proven winner in group 3 and the
Vintage Enduro series in HSR.
