Ultima sold to USA
Discussion
I will leave up what I posted, but I'm leaning towards me being wrong. Below is my original post:
I really don't buy this whole sale story.
I ve been trying to track down any actual background on "Peregryn Motors," and there is zero information on this company existing anywhere outside of that redirected page. What makes it even more suspicious is how close the name is to Peregrine Motors (with an "i"), an established company that already specializes in British imports.
On top of that, there s complete radio silence on Facebook not a single update, announcement, or mention of an IP sale anywhere on their page.
This feels a lot more like a missed domain renewal, domain hijacking, or elaborate domain parking scheme than an actual corporate buyout. Has anyone managed to find a single official record or corporate filing for these guys, or is this just site squatting?
I really don't buy this whole sale story.
I ve been trying to track down any actual background on "Peregryn Motors," and there is zero information on this company existing anywhere outside of that redirected page. What makes it even more suspicious is how close the name is to Peregrine Motors (with an "i"), an established company that already specializes in British imports.
On top of that, there s complete radio silence on Facebook not a single update, announcement, or mention of an IP sale anywhere on their page.
This feels a lot more like a missed domain renewal, domain hijacking, or elaborate domain parking scheme than an actual corporate buyout. Has anyone managed to find a single official record or corporate filing for these guys, or is this just site squatting?
Edited by Naib on Sunday 2nd August 15:14
I can't imagine there are many states where an Ultima can get within a country mile of being road legal.
IIRC the rights to Noble M400 in USA were sold to someone else and I think the cars are now called Rossion. Certainly most of the cars are "track only". My recollection is that the chassis/body is built in South Africa and then shipped to USA. The customer buys the car essentially as kit and has to source their own engine.
IIRC the rights to Noble M400 in USA were sold to someone else and I think the cars are now called Rossion. Certainly most of the cars are "track only". My recollection is that the chassis/body is built in South Africa and then shipped to USA. The customer buys the car essentially as kit and has to source their own engine.
Panamax said:
I can't imagine there are many states where an Ultima can get within a country mile of being road legal.
IIRC the rights to Noble M400 in USA were sold to someone else and I think the cars are now called Rossion. Certainly most of the cars are "track only". My recollection is that the chassis/body is built in South Africa and then shipped to USA. The customer buys the car essentially as kit and has to source their own engine.
What makes it road legal is the fact that it is a kit car, it does not meet any Federal safety guidelines for production vehicles, like airbags, abs, traction control, etc. I'm not exactly sure how they plan on selling fully assembled vehicles, there may be a certain number of cars needed to be considered a "production vehicle".IIRC the rights to Noble M400 in USA were sold to someone else and I think the cars are now called Rossion. Certainly most of the cars are "track only". My recollection is that the chassis/body is built in South Africa and then shipped to USA. The customer buys the car essentially as kit and has to source their own engine.
Naib said:
What makes it road legal is the fact that it is a kit car.
Yes, like the Rossion/Noble M400 I mentioned above. But now check out which states have regulations which make trying to register a kit car anything less than virtually impossible and you'll see the problem. Sure, there are states in the middle of nowhere that are relatively relaxed but it's very different in the populated areas where emissions and safety regulations can be a huge obstacle.kris450 said:
No idea if this means anything as I've very little experience with these things, but the company is still registered and active on Companies House. Surely if it had been sold that wouldn't be the case ?
It's all a question of how the deal was structured. If the "company" has sold its "business" the company will still show at Companies House even though there's essentially nothing left in it.Alternatively the company might still be there but owned by somebody else. Again, it's all about the structure of the deal.
Panamax said:
kris450 said:
No idea if this means anything as I've very little experience with these things, but the company is still registered and active on Companies House. Surely if it had been sold that wouldn't be the case ?
It's all a question of how the deal was structured. If the "company" has sold its "business" the company will still show at Companies House even though there's essentially nothing left in it.Alternatively the company might still be there but owned by somebody else. Again, it's all about the structure of the deal.
Richard has made a personal commitment to see the outstanding orders all completed. So I'd expect contract signed, but he's still director and shareholder.
Or, as it's a US outfit, they've not bought the actual company, they've just bought all the assets from the company that Richard is still director of.
Either way, I've got a lot of sympathy for Richard, you never know what's going on behind the scenes. It's easy for everyone to shout "it's an outrage", but you have to remember that this was a small family owned company - I am sure it was incredibly stressful behind the scenes. Maybe Richard has spent his whole career to date doing Ultima and wants to do something a bit different for the rest of his career. Maybe he never intended to sell, but peregrin approached him with such a compellingly large cheque that he'd have been a fool to say no. Maybe there are even some health issues at play.
It's none of our business and we'll all never know.
Or, as it's a US outfit, they've not bought the actual company, they've just bought all the assets from the company that Richard is still director of.
Either way, I've got a lot of sympathy for Richard, you never know what's going on behind the scenes. It's easy for everyone to shout "it's an outrage", but you have to remember that this was a small family owned company - I am sure it was incredibly stressful behind the scenes. Maybe Richard has spent his whole career to date doing Ultima and wants to do something a bit different for the rest of his career. Maybe he never intended to sell, but peregrin approached him with such a compellingly large cheque that he'd have been a fool to say no. Maybe there are even some health issues at play.
It's none of our business and we'll all never know.
Panamax said:
Yes, like the Rossion/Noble M400 I mentioned above. But now check out which states have regulations which make trying to register a kit car anything less than virtually impossible and you'll see the problem. Sure, there are states in the middle of nowhere that are relatively relaxed but it's very different in the populated areas where emissions and safety regulations can be a huge obstacle.
I'm sure some states, maybe most, are terrible. I'm very fortunate that PA allows it. All you need is an "enhanced safety inspection". It's a good program.https://www.autonext.co/news/peregryn-motors-ultim...
Someone in the auto world picked it up, but they basically are just reporting what the new website says.
Someone in the auto world picked it up, but they basically are just reporting what the new website says.
Had a response from Ultima this morning regarding purchasing the remaining parts needed to finish my build. Ultima can’t sell any parts it all has to go through Peregryn, they own all the rights to the company, waiting for a reply from Peregryn regarding parts supply. Hoping to put a bulk purchase in for parts before it moves to the US and a 30% tax bill to import, fingers crossed the UK can still supply, will have to wait and see. It looks like its the end of an era and really sad that no one apart from the orders remaining will be able to experience building an Ultima, best wishes to all the employees I found them to be really helpful in my build and full of knowledge, hope that’s not lost to everyone.
TR3B said:
Did they give you any contact info for Peregryn? I checked the website and all they have is a general email. Sure gonna miss being able to call Ultima and talk to a real person. End of an era.
Yes https://www.peregrynmotors.us/owners/Takes you to the Peregryn site where you can request a parts enquiry. I’ve had two quick responses but they ask for invoice receipt numbers, I suppose to prove you are an Ultima customer. I’m getting a list together and see if I can get everything I need in one go if it’s still possible. I tried contacting Ultima a few weeks ago for some advise but no answer by phone and by email received an answer that was no help and telling me all contact was now by email ( obvious now it was the start of the Peregryn takeover)
Only time will tell if there ends up being a person to speak to for quick problem solving and yes the end of an era, hope I can get mine finished quickly while parts may be available
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