Latest News
Friday, December 21, 2007
The mid-engined Strathcarron sports car is about to make a comeback under a new name and with a new backer. The car, a £25,000 Lotus Elise competitor, is now called the MMI Avocet, following major engineering changes and a styling re-think. It will be unveiled at the Autosport International at the NEC next month, and the first car should reach its owner in March.
The manufacturer, Sussex-based MMI, is a new company fronted by one of Strathcarron’s former backers, Martin Miles. Miles and his partners have retained Roush Engineering, British offshoot of the giant US performance engineering group, to build Avocets in batches of 10, aiming to sell 50-60 cars annually for a start. “I’m very aware that this is a tough market,” says Miles, “so we have to be very realistic and build steadily.”
Since acquiring rights to build the car, the styling has been improved by MMI’s designer, Mike Reeves. The company initially asked respected race engineer Ray Mallock to assess and improve its engineering, though its basis, an aluminium honeycomb chassis and a suspension designed by race car manufacturer Reynard, is mostly retained.
The Avocet no longer uses a Triumph motorcycle engine, one of the original Strathcarron’s most expensive components. It now uses a more conventional and considerably torquier 2.0-litre, four-cylinder twin-cam Ford engine, mounted transversely to drive the rear wheels through an end-on five-speed gearbox. Miles believes judicious weight savings around should allow the Avocet to retain its sub-Elise kerb weight of about 700kg,
The first cars will have near-standard 150bhp engines, which Miles says offer “lots of performance” both because of their 220bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio, and the engine’s mid-range strength.
However, MMI will soon offer a faster-revving 225bhp normally aspirated version, which boosts the power-to-weight above 300 bhp per tonne. That car should easily run sub-5.0 second 0-60 mph times, and crack 150 mph in top gear. Despite the near-supercar performance, MMI believes it can keep the price of the more powerful version below £30,000.
Steve Cropley
Your Say
Comments: 1 Join the discussion