British sports car manufacturer Climax Cars has revealed production plans for a roadgoing racer to rival the Ariel Atom V8 and Caparo T1.
The rear-drive Climax Sports Racer will be limited to just 200 units and will be built at its production facility in Coventry. It is powered by a Ford Racing-supplied 4.6-litre V8, which produces 345bhp and 305lb ft. A supercharged S version increases power to 415bhp. Power is sent to the wheels through a six-speed Graziano GT ME1 gearbox.
Weight has been kept down to just 907kg thanks to Climax’s use of aluminium in its chassis and bodywork. This gives the standard car a power-to-weight ratio of 380bhp per tonne, greater than that of a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. This increases to 458bhp per tonne in the supercharged model.
The speedster-style styling is akin to that of the McLaren-Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss edition, with features including a small wind-deflecting windscreen.
Simon Long and Marcus Rayner designed the car. They commented, “We wanted to produce a radically different type of car that would be dramatically desirable as well as being an out-and-out enthusiast’s car.
“The choice of aluminium was an obvious one to keep the weight down, which improves the handling, performance and economy of the car.”
Suspension is double wishbone all round and is fully adjustable to cater for both road and track set-ups. Options will include ceramic brakes, full race harnesses, and sequential and semi-automatic gearboxes.
“We believe that there is a growing market sector of enthusiasts who are not prepared to accept a compromise in terms of styling or performance but are looking for better value from a car that is not driven on an everyday basis,” said Climax’s commercial director Ian Howe.
“Our research shows that there is increasing demand for performance cars that have striking design and exemplary build quality coupled with a high power-to-weight ratio, that can compete dynamically and in terms of exclusivity with more established supercar marques but, crucially, undercut them in terms of affordability by a sizeable margin.”
The Sports Racer will cost from £92,000, which will undercut the forthcoming Ariel Atom V8 by almost £30,000. The Caparo T1 costs even more, at around £165,000.
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Re: British supercar guns for Atom V8
Some people dont know much about car herritage do they! Cooper Climax ring any bells?
Re: British supercar guns for Atom V8
Not a stupid name, the car of out of Coventry where the Cooper Climax engines came from!! Ring any bells???
Re: British supercar guns for Atom V8
If it's a single seater, why did not they put the driver's place in the middle of the car? The Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss as well as the Veritas RS3 sit the driver on the far side of the car rather than in the middle, which for me upsets the weight distribution. For me a car that is all about performance and is only going to have the driver on board should sit him in the middle. It was an opportunity for these blokes to come up with something new, but as it is the Climax Sports Racer is just another sports car from a small industrial estate with nothing new to offer (and a silly name to go with it).