NOTTINGHAM: The Ultima Evolution offers 1,020bhp on tap and a racing pedigree, yet is lighter than a Bugatti Veyron and 10 times cheaper.
Revealed this week, the Evolution is the newest model from British sportscar manufacturer Ultima, a firm that my not have the highest profile but nevertheless has been building highly competitive, serious road-legal and FIA-compliant race cars for nearly two decades.
Tipping the scales at just 950kg, the car is not just half the weight of a Bugatti Veyron; it's lighter than pretty much any car out there that can claim membership to the 200mph club.
Propelling the car into that very special club is a Chevrolet-sourced, 6.8-litre V8 engine to which the company has attached a supercharger to boost power to 1,020bhp. And, because it weighs so little the Ultima boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 1,050bph per ton.
In comparison, the original Bugatti Veyron's ratio worked out at 523bhp per ton thanks to a 1,888kg kerb weight and a 987bhp 16-cylinder engine.
The Ultima's power-to-weight ratio translates into a road-legal 0-100kph time of 2.3 seconds, a 0-160kph time of 4.9 seconds, a 0-240kph time of 8.9 seconds and flat out the car can hit 386kph.
However, the Ultima still has one trick left up its sleeve. Its makers claim that it can cover the standing quarter mile (402m) in 9.2 seconds, hitting a top speed of 251kph in the process. If those figures can be independently verified, then that would be a new world record for a road-legal production car.
The Ultima is available as both a hard-top coupe and as an open-top roadster. And, despite being a very track-focused car there are several surprisingly practical features.
The Ultima, priced from 95,000 pounds (RM513,000), can be specified with parking sensors, a reversing camera, Bluetooth connection, sat-nav, an Alpine stereo and heated rear windscreen.
However, don't expect to be able to pick from 22 different graduated shades of leather or a host of exotic wood veneers when ordering one - this is a vehicle for adrenaline junkies rather than those obsessed with creature comforts.
And for the ultimate sense of adventure, the Ultima can be ordered as a kit that you can complete yourself, as well as a factory-built model.
