Connaught Type D unveiled
New 300bhp British sports car on sale now
300bhp Connaught Type-D
With 300bhp and 274lb-ft of torque from a supercharged front-mounted 2.0-litre V10 petrol engine, the 750Kg car is no slouch. The company claims an entirely believable 0-60mph in under five seconds and a top speed of 170mph. The 2+2 coupé is made of composites and stainless steel with aluminium panels.
The car was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tony Brooks' historic win for Connaught in the 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix. Connaught was the first British manufacturer to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, beating works Maserati & Ferraris and the first to build their own aerodynamic wind tunnel.
Due to debut at Autosport International in January, production starts in May. But if you want one, contact the company now as there will only be 100 made -- and 28 have already been sold for the asking price of between £60,000 to £80,000, depending on spec.
Hybrid
In future, there'll be a ‘HigherBred’ (d'oh!) petrol/electric hybrid version, which will include an electric motor and a normally aspirated version of the V10 with 162bhp and 142lb ft of torque. Performance is claimed to be 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and Vmax of 140mph -- and 42mpg. Impressively, it'll only weigh 100Kg more.
The brainchild of two ex-Jaguar consultant engineers, Tim Bishop and Tony Martindale, the Connaught Type-D has to date received almost half a million pounds worth of funding from the Energy Saving Trust and has 17 patents pending on its ground-breaking technology.
The car was previewed at the Goodwood Revival, a fitting venue to resurrect a famous name of 1950s automotive engineering, but the new Connaught Motor Company insists that it's no heritage-laden throw-back to past eras.
Links
www.connaughtmotorco.com/specifications.html
Still mighty impressive though.
That's a pretty complex lump. Where are they getting that from or will it be a bespoke inhouse unit? If this is going to fill the £30K - £40K space as previously suggested then it could be very interesting, as there is nothing bespoke for that much money that you can get new. Much more money than that and it starts to sit shoulder to shoulder with TVRs, Marcos' etc. And those are going to interest sports cars buyers more than the Connaught, I can't help thinking.
All the same, this looks really interesting and I am looking forward to seeing it.
I suppose it will be quite light compared to other V10's, but you can get a two litre from a 4 pot...and 300bhp, ie Impreza's. They must be going for the quirky originally thing.
I suspect that we're seeing the result of an insufficiently-funded research effort, which has resulted in a too-slow-to-market product: this thing would have been really exciting three years ago, but the major manufacturers are already technologically ahead of this. For one thing, the engine should have been a diesel/electric hybrid - the latest direct-injection TD engines are far superior to gasoline engines, if economy is anywhere near the top of your agenda. Plus, this size of engine (by weight, or bulk - not displacement) in a TDI design would have way more torque (double?)than this engine, which would have allowed them to pursue a more agressive electricity-recovery strategy, and the resulting mileage would have been truly eye-opening! Just look at what BMW has accomplished with their current TD packages...
I actually kind of like the front-end styling - it definitely resembles the Lancia Hyena, but that's no bad thing - but I'd have to see some serious wind-tunnel numbers, to accept the rear-end details - it has the reek of 'grad-student final project,' if you know what I mean...
That's gonna be a fun engine!!! Stephen - you're missing one big point - 850kg is a full 1/2-tonne less than an STi. So the bhp/tonne will be rather stunning...the car will trouble a lot of machinery twice it's price, I'd wager.
As for the whole diesel thing - they wanted to create a SPORTS CAR! Diesels are heavy lumps and don't sound sporty...and don't deliver a "sporty" feel to the drive, either.
paz said:
The engine looks a strange lump...a V10 but only 2 litres, can't think of another manufacturer it comes from, can anyone?
I suppose it will be quite light compared to other V10's, but you can get a two litre from a 4 pot...and 300bhp, ie Impreza's. They must be going for the quirky originally thing.
It's their own in house unit.
Which reminds me, they owe me some dosh!
AER said:
What a waste of time an effort. Why a 2.0L V10? It acheives nothing apart from (some) NVH benefits and gee-wow, but with massive penalties for friction, packaging, complexity, cost and weight.
In what way? Packaging shouldn't be any more difficult than a Scooby lump or a VR6, IMHO. Complexity...sure, but so what, Honda engines are massively complex but the most reliable part of the whole car. Cost? For 300bhp? Weight? Why should it weigh much more than any other 2.0?
I agree with all of those on this thread that say this car should have a 2-litre four pot and styling better oned for the wind tunnel. I believe they should also have called it the "320Ci" - after all, many have proved there's no market for original thinking and a gung-ho f*** the rest attitude...
Come on chaps, we Brits love the underdog! Give them a chance!
AER said:
What a waste of time an effort. Why a 2.0L V10? It acheives nothing apart from (some) NVH benefits and gee-wow, but with massive penalties for friction, packaging, complexity, cost and weight. Where are they heading with this idea then?
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