Thursday 22nd August 2013

Vuhl 05 - orders are in

Mexican track toy production to start in November, deliveries in the spring

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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 will cost you £35-£40K.

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!

 

[GranCab]

Ay Caramba !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnZQF-3UHag

[toys]

Mexican Chap said:

"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."

Translation: "A couple of people came onto our stand and said that they liked the car. However, we came home empty handed"

What is a 'serious order'? Is holding two orders 'well on the way' to twenty? Or am I just being super cynical...?

[4a4]

Lovely car. Had a look around the stand at Goodwood, and feel the chassis is very 'inspired' by a Lotus Elise/ Exige.

• High walled central 'tub' with visible adhesive spew at the joins
• 'Upside down' Bilstein dampers
• Double A-arm wishbones, almost identical bearing carriers to Lotus
• Very similar roll bar mounting points
• List goes on....

Still, i'll have a go please

[Wadeski]

Interesting. Mexico is a country that's on the move these days (their banks are recapitalizing Spain's...) and they have a lot of experience building cars for the USA.

Good for them to have a crack at the premium sector.

[mybrainhurts]

Eth Eth Eth Eth Eth....Scorchio?

[I WISH]

Sounds like fun ..... although I'd still prefer the Lotus or the Radical.

I do wonder though how people are able to afford to just pull out 70,000 big ones just on a weekend "toy".

I certainly can't!

(jealousy burning away in the background)

[dlockhart]

I WISH said:

Sounds like fun ..... although I'd still prefer the Lotus or the Radical.

I do wonder though how people are able to afford to just pull out 70,000 big ones just on a weekend "toy".

I certainly can't!

(jealousy burning away in the background)

But may be able to hire one for a track day, which is a route I am thinking of going down. then you would want to know how it drives rather than just a few numbers on a peice of paper.

[2eleven]

Tried to have a good old chat at Goodwood.

The stand team didn't appear that well informed on their product and I wonder how much genuine Euro benchmarking has taken place.

With the design budget it had the car could be considerably lighter. Why use adhesives and rivets?

The tub was crude in construction and look.

Suspension set-up wasn't maximised, used fairly cheap kit for such a high price.

Engine and gearbox sits too high and the gear cable route will likely lead to play issues and could lead to reliability issues.

Looks menacing in a good way from the front but has a fat ass like an old Renault Spider.

Best part of the car.....................the wing mirrors (motorcycle/quad, small viewing area but very sexy)