Remember the IFR Aspid? It was that crazy, insect-like creation born of a talented bunch of Spanish rally engineers and boasting a host of head-scratching statistics – 0-62mph in less than three seconds and a near six-figure price tag among them.
Influence of the mental looking Aspid is obvious
Dressed up like Robocop’s Caterham, the Aspid was a weird-looking thing, the superficial resemblance to the Seven is perhaps the biggest red herring in the whole package, given the technology underpinning it. Based around a 55kg aluminium spaceframe with bonded-in honeycomb crash protection and running a supercharged Honda S2000 engine with around 400hp, there was nothing primitive in the engineering, IFR’s neat touchscreen interface a shop window for the firm’s core ambition of working as an industry consultancy. And it drove as distinctively as it looked: soft, rally-bred suspension with fantastic damping and lots of travel based around a seemingly square wheelbase meant frankly violent direction changes along IFR’s local roads, home also to the Rally Catalunya.
GT-21 is apparently a 2+2, so IFR claims
That was then and this is now, and the Aspid’s successor is no less extreme in looks or performance but offering just a tad more space and mainstream appeal. Relatively.
Don’t let the shades of Plymouth Prowler put you off either – this is no boulevard cruiser, but the next step in IFR’s distinctively single-minded approach to cutting-edge supercars. Four cylinders have become eight, and the screaming Honda VTEC has been replaced with a 450hp, 4.4-litre BMW V8 that apparently “incorporates a new generation of sports car hybridisation, which increases the dynamic performance of the vehicle while being respectful of the environment.” No trees were harmed in the building of this supercar, or something like that.
Invictus is, relatively, more sensible than the Aspid
Like the Aspid, the Invictus will hit 62mph in less than three seconds and is projected to top 187mph. It’ll weigh just 990kg (dry) is, at 4,447mm in length and 1,883mm in width, a smidge smaller in footprint than a McLaren MP4-12C and, like the Aspid, puts the emphasis on handling rather than vmax bragging rights.
Distinctive features from the Aspid, including the extruded aero section aluminium suspension arms and incredibly delicate-looking but hugely powerful twin front discs (lighter and more powerful than conventional ceramics and quicker to warm up, says IFR) will be carried over but the new car gets a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and much more besides. Displays integrated into the wheel and touchscreen interaction reduce interior clutter and build on earlier systems developed for the Aspid too, IFR saying it will build up to 250 GT-21s a year with each customised to individual spec from a range of over 100 options.
IFR isn’t talking pricing yet, but given the Aspid was nudging six figures already don’t expect it to be any kind of bargain.