Well, many valid points have been raised I guess the $20K Rotax engine was always going to jack the price up and I nudge things closer to Jabiru territory.
The thing is, even though I really am a drifter kind of guy, I would have some difficulty on forking out similar $$ for a drifter as opposed to a Jabiru.
I know they are different and I am not really that much of a fan of Jabs, but when it comes to a similar price tag, I would probably have to go for the fully enclosed cabin, 100kt cruise and four stroke economy and reliability.
I cant help but think there should be a fair gap in the price tags. I think Wayne's latest basic kit price was $23K the other week and I think that included a 503, so I guess for the moment, a bargain can still be had.
Oh, and I agree with JL -I can't think for one second why I would pay $60K to play piggy back in a trike!!!