The Troy Roadster: A Fascinating American Low-Volume Production Car

This is the Troy Roadster, there can be little argument that it’s one of the most sensational American cars currently in low-volume production. It’s also one of the lightest at just 2,200 lbs.

The styling of the car is based on the Troy Roadster developed by Wally Troy in 1959, this was a groundbreaking vehicle for the time that brought Indy car-like performance to the road. This version of the car by 7Fifteen Motorworks has a new chassis, drivetrain, and all modern running gear – giving it state-of-the-art handling and performance that’ll humble many supercars on the track.

Fast Facts – The Troy Roadster

• The original 1950s-era Troy Roadster is the most famous of the one-off custom builds created by Wally Troy. Stylistically it looked like a cross between an Indy car and a hot rod. If you had described a Lotus Seven to an American hot rod builder over the phone in 1959 and asked him to build you one, it would probably look like Wally’s creation.
• The modern Troy Roadster was developed by the team at 7Fifteen Motorworks and Joe Scarbo of Scarbo Performance as an entirely modern take on the classic 1950s-era design. This new car shares approximately 70% of its aluminum skin with the original, but under the skin it’s an all-new design.
• The spaceframe chassis was designed by Joe Scarbo and made from TIG-welded 1.5 inch Docol R8 steel tubing; he also designed a custom inboard coilover suspension system. 6-piston Wilwood calipers are installed up front with 4-piston Wilwoods in the rear, and it rides on Toyo Proxes ST III tires.
• The powertrain is similarly modern, with a 495 bhp GM LS3 V8 from Pace Performance. The displacement is 376 cubic inches (6.2 liters), it has an aluminum block, a 10.7:1 compression ratio, and power is sent back through a Tremec T56 Magnum 6-speed manual transmission into a Cadillac CTS-V differential.
• The good news is that the new Troy Roadster by 7Fifteen Motorworks is now in production, alongside the similar Troy Indy Special that you may have seen featured on Jay Leno’s Garage last year.

7Fifteen Motorworks: The Origin Story

The following section was written by Jeff Bruss

7Fifteen Motorworks was formed when Bob Kendall purchased the original Troy Roadster from longtime owner Bill Hebal. Bob loved the simplicity of the original Troy but longed for a modern driveline in the style of the original car. Bob is a serial entrepreneur and decided he wanted to make his own modern version.

Above Video: This is the episode of Jay Leno’s Garage that showcases the Indy Roadster by 7Fifteen, the sister vehicle to the Troy Roadster shown in this article.

Bob and his son, John Kendall, requisitioned Joe Scarbo of Scarbo Performance to 3D scan the body and develop a modern, race-inspired chassis. The modern Roadster shares approximately 70% of its aluminum skin with the original. The original prototype body was hand-crafted by Luc de Ley of Marcels Custom Metal. Production bodies are stretch-formed over a die out of either Poland or Texas.

In addition to the Troy Roadster, a 1950’s Indy race car inspired version was also developed alongside. Currently 7Fifteen offers the two different styles – the Roadster and the Indy Roadster, which is a limited edition run of only 33 cars, the same number of cars that race the Indy 500.

Jay Leno’s Garage did a drive of the Indy version (shown above). Both have aluminum bodies and share similar tube frame construction but the Indy a few upgraded mechanical differences and the limited edition bodywork.

The cars are completely assembled by hand by two brothers, Brad and Mike Maney, in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. The tube frames are TIG-welded by hand on a complex jig, all of the customization, mechanical assembly, wiring, etc. area all done by Mike and Brad.

Since they are all handbuilt, you can literally spec them any way you want for options – as an example, the Troy Roadster in this article has a custom luggage rack, center console, integrated fog lights in the grill, tow hook, and the black package.

Interior choices are limitless and levels of paint can be selected from basic to show quality as well as just raw aluminum. The duo can produce about 3-4 cars per year.

To date they’ve hand built and delivered 8 cars (6 Indys and 2 roadsters) and currently have two Indys reserved and in the works. Here’s a link to info on the prototype that sold on BaT back in May of ’22.

The Modern Troy Roadster

The following section was written by Ben Branch

This modern take on the Troy Roadster design strikes a careful balance between the original design, and the desire to give the car a modern chassis, as well as modern suspension, brakes, and a modern drivetrain.

As a result, the original car was laser scanned, and the new version shares approximately 70% of the same aluminum bodywork as Jeff noted above. Underneath that bodywork however, things are very different. A new spaceframe chassis developed by Joe Scarbo is now used, it’s made from TIG-welded 1.5 inch Docol R8 steel tubing and forms a rigid structure, around which the rest of the car is built.

A custom inboard suspension system was then designed, also by Scarbo, using billet lever arms and QA1 coilover shock absorbers front and back for a fully independent four wheel suspension arrangement. 6-piston Wilwood calipers are installed up front with 4-piston Wilwoods in the rear, and the car rides on Toyo Proxes ST III tires front and back.

As you might have guessed, the new drivetrain fitted to the car is a vast improvement over the original, with a GM LS3 V8 from Pace Performance. The displacement is 376 cubic inches (6.2 liters), it has an aluminum block, a 10.7:1 compression ratio, and it produces 495 bhp – all in a car with a curb weight of just 2,200 lbs (998 kgs).

The good news is that order books are now open – If you’d like to see more from 7Fifteen Motorworks or order your own Troy Roadster you can visit the official website here.

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Images courtesy of Mike Maney + 7Fifteen Motorworks