As kit built vehicles don’t have type approval like your traditional tin tops, they require an IVA test in order to prove their roadworthiness. The vast majority of the kit cars currently in Ireland were either registered prior to this requirement, or else have been through an IVA test abroad – mostly in the UK – and then imported. There are currently no test centres set up for IVA testing in Ireland, however it is a work in Progress. The NSAI are currently reviewing the latest legislation for Schedule 1 vehicles (kit cars included) with a view to developing a test schedule for them, and then getting test centres on board to carry out the testing.

The legislation is some fairly heavy reading, so this might not be the most rapid process in the world, however I’ve offered the services of the IKCC and myself (I’m an automotive engineer, and I put my own car through the UK IVA test last year) to help the process along. I’ll keep this up to date with developments when I can, but in the mean time, the first revision of the IVA manual is here.