Since 1989, RENNtech has been producing some of the most powerful and refined performance cars on the market. Recognized as one of the world's premier tuning firms and America's foremost authority on Mercedes Benz, Hartmut Feyhl (president of RENNtech and ex-technical director at AMG North America) is also an avid kart enthusiast.
It was this passion for karting that led to RENNtech's latest foray into motorsport: RENNtech Karting.
RENNtech Karting is the exclusive importer for the Aixro XR50 rotary kart engine, which RENNtech has been developing for stateside applications. The compact engine was designed as an alternative to 2 stroke shifter karts, which are being phased-out worldwide due to increasingly stringent emissions regulations. The Aixro is as green as the best racing 4-strokes, while delivering significantly more power (48 "base" hp).
"It's really an incredible design. I can't get enough of it." explains Feyhl - who, after years of getting extreme horsepower figures from Mercedes and AMG cars, isn't known for getting excited.
The Aixro rotary, however, seems to be the kind of thing everyone is getting excited about, including members of the exclusive SLR.CLUB.
The SLR.CLUB holds many of its events at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, under the heading SLR.SAFETY and SPEED ACADEMY. These 2-day events allow SLR owners to get together and culminates in a chance to drive their exotic cars at speed on the historic track. First, though, club members receive professional instruction from well-known drivers (including David Coulthard and Jochen Mass) and familiarize themselves with Paul Ricard in purpose built "SLR" kart chassis provided by Swiss-Hutless.
In the beginning, the club experimented with different 4 cycle engines, but these didn't provide the excitement or reliability SLR.CLUB members were looking for. "It was a matter of not enough speed, and too much downtime," offers Feyhl. "When they had a chance to drive the track with the rotary, they were totally hooked by the smoothness and the power."
With almost 50hp from the light, 32 lb. package - that's hardly surprising! SLR.CLUB has been running the karts through the summer, and intends to expand its SAFETY and SPEED ACADEMY events to several historic European tracks next spring.
