Prodrive P2: see it at Autosport
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Prodrive is to launch a unique new road car, the P2, at Autosport International next month. The car will be unveiled by Prodrive chairman Dave Richards at the NEC, Birmingham on the opening day of the show, Thursday 12 January.
The two-seater sports car has been developed by the motorsport and automotive technology specialist, which runs the Subaru World Rally and Aston Martin Racing teams, to showcase its innovative technologies and engineering skills and to demonstrate its ability to design and build a unique road car in less than a year.
At its core, P2 uses an Impreza STi engine, transmission and four-wheel drive system. To this, Prodrive has added its own active handling system, ATD, and an engine turbo anti-lag system developed from its Subaru World Rally Cars, helping to give the lightweight car a predicted power-to-weight ratio approaching 350bhp/tonne.
Anti-lag is a system that's been in use in rallying for over a decade. It keeps the turbo spinning by using ignition timing and the dumping of unspent fuel into the exhaust system when the engine is off-throttle. The fuel then ignites in the high temperatures, which spins the turbine, reducing if not eliminating turbo lag. It can also make rather fruity bangs and pops, although more modern systems tend to be quieter.
Styling has been in the hands of Peter Stevens and the entire design, engineering and build of the car has been carried out at Prodrive’s facilities at Banbury and Warwick in the UK.
While there are currently no plans to put the car into production, if it were produced in volume Prodrive expects the car would be priced at approximately £40,000, putting it in its own niche sector.
You can book for Autosport International using the link below.