The Double R was always one of the maddest lightweights – then came the supercharged one
By Matt Bird / Friday, 28 July 2023 / Loading comments
Like so many low-volume British sports cars, the story of the Brooke Double R is an interesting tale. Back in the 1990s, a car called the Brooke Kensington ME190 was built, taking design inspiration from the Light Car Company Rocket but with occupants side-by-side instead of in tandem. That didn’t work out (apparently just six were ever sold), but the Brooke name was resurrected in the early 2000s; the mid-engined concept was reworked and refined, presented to the world once more in 2006 as the Brooke Double R.
It met with widespread critical acclaim, praise coming in for its grip, traction and – predictably enough – the thrill of 260hp shoving along little more than half a tonne. Power came from a 2.3-litre Cosworth four-cylinder, very similar to the unit CSR Caterhams unit, in the Brooke with roller-barrel throttles and a baffled wet sump. There was even a manual gearbox, for maximum involvement.
Things were looking good – as everything did in 2006 for anyone that wasn’t Michael Lewis – and plans were afoot for a broader range of Brookes. Here was another British sports car that was superb to drive, far rarer than a Caterham, more extreme than an Elise and faster than any Atom around at the time. Why wouldn’t they be ambitious? There was going to be a Double R racer, a track spec one, a 200hp model and a supercharged, madcap flagship.
Then, well, the end of the 21st century’s first decade happened, and raw, uncompromising sports cars weren’t really top of anyone’s shopping list. As far as we’re aware, just 15 Brookes left the HQ in Honiton, another intriguing footnote in the history of British lightweights but sadly nothing more.
Any Brooke is incredibly rare, then, but here’s a genuine one-off. Not only was this Double R the only one to be made in polished aluminium rather than the standard fibreglass (a £15k option, apparently), but it was also the sole supercharged car. Once upon a time, there was going to be a 320hp car as well as a wild 400hp offering; as it transpired, just one was built, and no prizes for guessing which power output it got…
Yep, here’s a 550kg car with as much power as an Audi RS3. It means the kind of power-to-weight more akin to a superbike than a car, and is far beyond even the latest breed of crazy track specials. A Caterham 620R will leave most drivers a trembling mess, yet musters only 310hp from its supercharged Duratec and probably weighs a tad more; an Ariel Atom will be comparable on weight but is still only good for 320hp. Only the very latest Atom 4R can boast the same sort of insane statistics, almost 15 years after this Brooke was first registered.
Which might be why it’s only covered 1,754 miles with two owners since 2009 – it surely wouldn’t take much to be scared off the Double R for a little while. That being said, the advert makes it sounds like a pussycat, the linear delivery of the supercharger useful for pottering around at less than light speed. ‘This car is as happy being driven normally as it is being driven quickly.’ No excuse not to, basically.
Today the 400 presents as almost new, which should be no surprise given the mileage, and still resembles nothing else with the polished aluminium body; like one of those pre-war streamliners hacked down for track. It should still provide the kind of thrill little else can, all for £55,000 – or about the same as a crazy Caterham. And there’s certainly no danger of seeing another polished aluminium, supercharged Brooke in the pitlane…
- Caterham 620R wins best track car of the last 25 years
- Outrageous Ariel Atom 4R shown at FoS
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