Aircraft Selection

I have a few criteria here:

At least 2 seats (although 4 would be nice).
All metal or wood and composite construction.
Closed in cockpit (an open cockpit in winter would not make me happy).
Room for a 6'2" 240lb pilot, Me, and my 6' tall Fiance', Cindy
At least 3 hours cross country endurance.
Easy Build - I don't want this project to take forever and a day. If I need a bending brake It's probably not a good project for me.
PRICE! (How much is it going to cost me to finish this aircraft?)
>120 mph cruse.
Able to use either a converted Corvair or VW engine.
It's GOT to LOOK COOL!

I seriously considered a few of aircraft:

Aircraft	Sonex, Ltd. Waiex	KR-2s	Volksplane VP-2
Seats	2, side by side	2, side by side	2, side by side
Construction	Metal	Wood & Composite	Wood
Fuel Capacity	16 gal, Header Tank	24 gal,Wing Tanks	14 gal, Header Tank
Cruise Speed	170 mph	180 mph	120 mph
Rate of Climb	1200 fpm	1200 fpm	800 fpm
Cockpit Width	40 in	modified to 44 in	36 in
Useful Load	520 lb	460 lb	420
Configuration	Tricycle or Tail Wheel, Y-Tail	Tricycle or Tail Wheel, Conventional	Tail Wheel, Conventional
Kit Price (no options)	$12,965	$10,622	$6,665

I initially was going to build a Volksplane VP-2 but in order to make it a real cross country cruiser that I'll comfortable with it is going to require a total redesign. I even went so far as to design a new aircraft loosely based on the VP-2 but it turned out looking a lot like the KR-2.

After talking to a few KR builders who have widened KR's I feel that doing this fairly common mod to the KR-2S would be a much better project for a first time builder like myself.

The Winner is...

The KR-2s

It offers excellent performance with the Corvair engine, a method on construction that I am confident I can learn quickly, and should make a great little cross country aircraft.

The KR-2S is also financially doable for me. This is a major factor!

Stay tuned to see how the build is going.