What are you going to be driving for the 2014 track day season? Looks like a number of drivers will be trying something Mexican, the Vuhl 05 we've been following the progress of
here on PH
for some time now confirmed as ready for production with the first cars due to be assembled at Vuhl's Mexican HQ in November.
Another fast Mexican, yesterday
PH was in the passenger seat (and the press photo above!) at Goodwood for the Vuhl's
public debut
and co-founder Guillermo Echeverria seems emboldened by the reception for the car at the Festival of Speed. "Our aim for Goodwood was quite specific - to accrue sufficient orders for a batch of 20 Edition One models," he says. "With the serious orders already received from the UK, central Europe, USA and Mexico we are well on the way to achieving that and more."
The Edition One, with a black anodised chassis, matt silver paint and a few other special features sells for just shy of £70,000, the 'standard' version £10,000 less. And if that sounds steep for a track toy bear in mind a Radical SR3 SL, which also uses a tweaked Ford Ecoboost engine, starts at £70K. OK, it's a bit more 'serious' and uses a racer style sequential gearbox but can't match the Vuhl's stylish looks. A more obvious rival on that score would be the KTM X-Bow R, starting at £50K for the 300hp version but nearly 100kg heavier despite the fancy carbon fibre build.
X-Bow is nearest rival but heavier
An Atom is cheaper, faster and lighter still but hardly an impulse buy at £40K for the
latest 3.5
and perhaps less track-focused than the Vuhl in its standard form. 'Middle ground' hardly seems a fair description for a 310hp supercharged Seven but the latest
Caterham 620R
at £50K offers an even more ballistic bang for your buck and even a
used Lotus 2-Eleven
Suffice to say, lots of choice for those in the market for an expensive track toy so if Vuhl's confidence is to be believed they've done an impressive hearts and minds job in a short space of time. And people are already asking about what's next.
"We've been asked everything from whether a coupe version is on the cards to whether the roadster will form the basis of a one-make race series," says Echeverria. "The answer is 'watch this space', for anything is possible!"
We'll take ours with a Speedy Gonzales graphic on the nose please!