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2009 Campagna T-Rex 1400R Review
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September 24, 2009
2009 Campagna T-Rex 1400R Review
by
Michel Deslauriers
, Auto123.com
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The T-Rex has been through a lot since our last encounter with it, which was back in the fall of 2007. The manufacturer, called T-Rex Vehicles, went bankrupt a few months later and closed its doors. But today that’s all changed.
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| Off the track and on city streets, the T-Rex draws attention. |
The T-Rex is under new ownership, called Campagna Motors, and the new company is aiming to succeed where the previous one failed; to still offer a great product but with much better service to the existing dealer network.
Speaking of which, there is only one place in Canada where you can buy a T-Rex right now, and that’s at H Grégoire Récréatif in St-Eustache, Québec. Campagna is seeking to open one or two more dealers on the south shore of Montréal as well as a dealer in Vancouver. There currently are about a dozen dealers in the United States, and you can find one by visiting Campagna Motors’ website.
Raw performance
Right behind the cockpit is a Kawasaki-sourced, 1.4-litre engine that generates 197 horsepower and 113.5 lb-ft of torque, and mated to a 6-speed sequential transmission. While that may not sound like groundbreaking numbers, the T-Rex weighs only 1,040 lbs (or 472 kg), so its power-to-weight ratio is among the most powerful supercars around.
Zero to 100 km/h takes a tick over 4 seconds, while top speed is rated at 220 km/h. Lateral acceleration is also one of the 1400R’s fortes. The vehicle displays neck-snapping handling and has no clue what body roll is. Campagna claims a figure of 1.3 g on the skidpad, which seems a little optimistic, but just a little.
Fuel consumption during our test is averaging 9.9 L/100 km; with a 28-litre tank, that means a range of about 280 km when driving around town.
In the urban jungle
Off the track and on city streets, the T-Rex draws attention. What’s impressive is that despite it being on the Québec market for about 15 years, the vehicle’s design is still polarizing.
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| Zero to 100 km/h takes a tick over 4 seconds, while top speed is rated at 220 km/h. |
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