They say a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, and the Romano WE84 – also known as The Kaditcha K582, simply as the ‘Kaditcha’, or affectionately as the ‘Bapmobile’ after its owner and driver, Bap Romano – is definitely something sweet to behold, no matter what you call it!
To this day, the Kaditcha is considered one of the most iconic, fastest, and popular Australian race cars. In it’s day, it was one of the first closed-top Sports Cars built to Group A specifications seen in Australia as opposed to the open-cockpit Can-Am style of car seen in the class, leading many to falsely believe it was built for Group C.
The name Kaditcha is derived from the Aboriginal-Australian word, particularly of the Arrernte people of Central Australia, which refers to a ‘magic man’ or shaman, and the real magic is the restoration of this ’80s hero car back to former glory to run laps around Sydney Motorsport Park! It is a car that needs to be seen and heard to be believed.
At its core, the Kaditcha’s engine bay houses a high-strung Cosworth DFV V8 engine, the same engine that had actually been used during the 1980 Formula One season by John Watson and a young Alain Prost!
While in England Romano was introduced to the Works Manager at Tyrrell Racing, Neil Davis. Davis took an interest in Romano’s plans for the car and the two formed a friendship that saw the K583’s suspension designed around components of the 1981 Tyrrell 010 Formula One car.
The car has ties with World Time Attack Challenge in a very unique way. Although the ‘Kaditcha’ name is what the car is most known as, technically Kaditcha is the name of the manufacturer of the vehicle, formed in the ’80s by none other than ex-McLaren engineer Barry Lock.
Just the name alone will summon memories for many time attack fans, as Barry has designed cars for many successful WTAC entries, most notably the Hammerhead, Rob Nguyen’s ‘Mighty Mouse’ CRX and most recently, Charles Warland’s Dream Project S15 Silvia. All of these vehicles have proven Lock’s timeless talent for making cars go fast. Really fast.
Don’t miss the Kaditcha on display and on track live and loud at #WTAC2022!
World Time Attack Challenge Sydney is proudly supported by Destination NSW.
Get WTAC tickets now! https://worldtimeattack.oztix.com.au
