Melling's Hellcat has surfaced

Is 1200bhp and 880lb-ft of torque enough?

Melling Hellcat

Engine guru Al Melling's new car, the Hellcat, has surfaced -- and it could be a Veyron-beater.

The two-seater was unveiled this week, powered by Melling's stunningly powerful; four-turbo, 6-litre V10 producing 1,200bhp at 7,200rpm and a mind-bending 880lb-ft of torque. All that power is shifted through the rear wheels via a transaxle setup. The engine itself is milled from solid aluminium billets, and was originally slated to produce only 700bhp -- but that's not an unusual amount of power in today's power-crazy automotive world so Melling upped the ante.

Underneath is a steel spaceframe, independent suspension clothed in a carbon-fibre and aluminium body. With no creature comforts to speak of, the whole could weigh less than 1,200Kg according to the story in Autocar, and Melling reckons it'll rocket to 225mph -- or probably more. Whether your fillings would travel with you is another story, as the car is said to reach 60mph from rest in 2.6 seconds...

Expect it to cost under £200,000 and the first of the 20 cars Melling will build to be united with their new owners later this year.