Power comes from an all aluminium 5.0 V8 producing 328bhp@6500rpm and 453NM@3700rpm. This drives the rear wheels through a 6 speed manual gearbox with a sports geared differential.
First launched in 1956 the “40” was envisioned as a lightweight sports car the average man could maintain in his own shed, and even take racing if desired.
The body is a fibreglass construction with a steel chassis. The engine is accessed by opening up the entire front of the car and folding it forwards. There is no rear boot access, storage is a small area behind the seats.
Power came from the Knightwick motors A series 851cc engine. In this application it uses twin carburettors and a tubular exhaust bringing the power up to 39bhp@5000rpm. A 4 speed gearbox is used and stopping power is provided by 200mm drum brakes all round.
There are no exterior door handles, the doors are opened by reaching into the inside of the car. Making this easier is the lack of fixed side windows, the plastic windows are buttoned into place when the roof is raised. Interior furnishings are kept to a minimum, with no radio or heater available.
Putting that aside for a moment, it had enough pace and presence to be the darling of attention-seeking celebrities, athletes and media moguls with lots of cash to spare. How much power does it make, then? I’m expecting well over 500 - and that huge engine is most likely a V12, probably normally aspirated. But how much does it weigh? After all, back in 1995, when it first came out, full carbon fiber bodywork and chassis were still very new - so I wouldn’t expect it to use such an advanced construction method. And is it rear-drive or AWD? If it were the latter, it would have more traction off the line at the expense of extra weight.
650hp, and believe it or not the body panels were part-carbon, which I believe was new in 1995 (the original release date for the GT), and RWD of course, so it would’ve earned a 911 Turbo esque reputation in its day. I’ll add the weight in when I next get to my PC
I don’t think thats…humm…apropiate for the hour. And topic. I might gently tuck it under the Beta-Juliet brand, even though they’re Braz-Italians. TBH I kinda lost interest on it when I remembered how close the purge update is.
Looking at these four cars you’ve just made, I know exactly what inspired their aesthetics: the first one reminds me of a '98-'02 Firebird Trans Am WS6 (but without the pop-up headlights or a hood scoop with four giant nostrils), the second one brings to mind a C5 Corvette (but with exaggerated rear haunches), the third looks like an AW11 MR2, and the last one is clearly reminiscent of a second-generation Eclipse GS-T, wing and all. It would have been even better if you went to the trouble of making fully detailed interiors for each and every one of them, but even so, their exterior designs alone are still more than good enough to leave me in awe - just as you did with the NCX you made earlier.
