Palatov MotorSport has unveiled the dp4, a vehicle intended to be used on kart tracks, with easy accessibility and low cost of tracktime. Its small size and light weight will enable trailering behind most normal cars with a hitch and a small utility trailer, eliminating the need for a dedicated tow vehicle. Think of the Ariel Atom->ke564, but better. The dp4 was made as a combination shifter kart and dp1 that addresses all of the shortcomings of the regular shifter karts.

The dp4 is powered by a variety of stock 4-stroke motorcycle engines of 1000cc and 600cc capacities and combining low weight of 800 lbs with the AWD system and suspension. This enables the dp4 to develop 200hp which is pretty impressive considering the weight of the vehicle. The dp4 will be available in AWD and RWD forms. It should be eligible for SCCA DSR competition in RWD configuration.

Take a look at this accompanying video where the dp4 takes to the Oregon Raceway Park for a few laps from prospective customers and tell us that you’re not impressed at this piece of work some people are already affectionately calling "the Batmobile".

Somebody even likened it to "going from the dp4 back to a Caterham CSR is like going from the Caterham to a stock Elise." And he said that after abandoning his test run after just four laps because he was already smitten with it. And at $25,910 a pop for the kit and up to $50,000 for the complete package with all of the available extras, it’s not exactly something that can be purchased at a pauper’s price. This makes the overwhelmingly positive response around the dp4 all the more impressive.

If somebody is willing to pay that amount for a go-kart, then it must be one hell of a ride.

UPDATE 06/19/11: It's been a while since we last heard about the Palatov DP4 Go-Kart so it was a little surprising to find a new video of the high-powered go-kart in action at the Oregon Raceway Park. The video shows BJ Zacharias running five laps on-board the DP4, clocking in a time that's about a second quicker than the current DSR record at the circuit and only six seconds off of the overall record held by a Formula Atlantic. Watch the video and you'll also notice the DP4 lay complete waste to a modified Porsche 911 GT3. Check out the video of the DP4's run after the jump.

BJ Zacharias on-board the Palatov DP4