RE: PH Used Buying Guide: Ultima GTR

[DaveGB]

How inaccurate is this buying guide. Absolutely hopeless.

I had a quote from Ultima for a basic spec factory built LS3 GTR around 5 years ago and it was £85k . Nowadays it would be more likely be around £100k. So where PH got £40k from new car is bizarre and so unprofessional.

Same with £35k for a second hand car, you would be looking at a seriously old car for that money with SBC. Everyone wants a LS engined cars these days, so you will always be north of £50k for a decent Second hand version of that car.

I tried to build one around 5 years ago and even buying a second hand chassis and body I still spent around £55k on parts, putting aside around 500 hours to build one. Never competed it unfortunately.

Epic cars for the money with massive road presence.

[DaveL485]

WCZ said:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

this one looks lovely, £65k for hypercar looks and performance - makes so many cars look poor value

I know the guys that built this, in fact I trailered it to the SVA place wistfully wondering if the mates rates discount would bag it me for a price I could afford. My offer of £20k and a bag of starmix was politely declined but its a steal for a zero owner car at £65 large.

Being taken around Spa and the 'Ring in his own can-am is one of the best things ive ever done with my boxers on. It's an assault on the senses.

Whoever put the values in that guide is on crack, go look at the classifieds before you write something like that FFS.

[bloomen]

I wouldn't go in any car with an exposed roll cage internally without a helmet and how do they stand up in crashes? They look like they're custom made to slice your legs off at the thigh.

[J4CKO]

I love these but I just know it would go like this,

Buy one, making sure its the absolute fastest I can lay my hands on
Go out, scare myself stless
Then make excuses to myself why I am not using it

I cant fathom being able to use one on the road, would have to be a track to get anywhere near its potential, is that how owners tend to use them or are they actually not that scary, in the dry at least.

[deadscoob]

Olivera said:

I'd personally would only consider the newer Ultima Evo chassis, the older cars are as rigid as a runny blancmange.

Lol PH at its finest.

A GTR set up correctly will hold its own against most things on track, it’s not as stiff as modern cars but so what.

[DaveGB]

J4CKO said:

I love these but I just know it would go like this,

Buy one, making sure its the absolute fastest I can lay my hands on
Go out, scare myself stless
Then make excuses to myself why I am not using it

I cant fathom being able to use one on the road, would have to be a track to get anywhere near its potential, is that how owners tend to use them or are they actually not that scary, in the dry at least.

With so much torque you can drive these cars easily in higher gears , making them easy to drive. As you get used to the power you can move up the Rev range. Been in a few of these where owners have given the cars full beans and they just dig in and go. Also a friend has taken his canam on many European trips with us as a group, to Switzerland , Spa, Nurburgring etc, super reliable and comfy too.

Really is a Jeckyl and Hyde car that can be driven sedately for hundreds of miles in a day, then drop it a few gears and very few things on the road will keep up with it . It’s almost cartoon like watching our friend suddenly pull away from the group as he floors it. Surprised it doesn’t roll the road up behind it lol.

[renmure]

Ultimas are ace.

I'll stick a link to my ongoing Readers Car thread for my GTR here for anyone who wants to look at pretty pictures

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by renmure on Thursday 6th September 17:58

[big_rob_sydney]

Many records achieved with these. It is simply staggering. I love these for the purity and lack of compromise.

[sideways man]

An Ultima is where my lottery winnings will be going. Just beautiful to look at, from what you read they’re just as good to drive.

[deadscoob]

Striple said:

To anyone who has driven one, can you compare the driving experience to anything else? Are they lotus-like, light and agile or is just pure brute akin to old school AMG?

Kind off. Have driven S1 Exiges and it’s not disimilar, but is heavier of course and harder to drive fast. Mine reminds me of a lairy go kart, it makes the RS feel soft and lardy

[jakeb]

I remember driving a GTR 550 on a trackday at snetterton in 2003/4 - what a beast. The sheer acceleration and I remember it really tucked in like a radical around coram where as a back to back drive in a new 996.2 GT3 was a lot less confident by comparison which has to say something.

[ukaskew]

Hate to put a downer on this but I genuinely thought I'd missed some pages after reading this 'buyers guide'. It kinda sums up what the front page articles on PH have become. Spend 30 minutes searching online and you can find way, way more useful information than this.

[gdaybruce]

Always cheers me up to look at the Ultima record videos: http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/records

[jimult1]

Gratuitous picture of mine...closest I’ve got to a superbike on four wheels.

[sutts]

jimult1 said:

Gratuitous picture of mine...closest I’ve got to a superbike on four wheels.

You are Batman AICMFP

[Nigel_O]

One of these would definitely be in my dream garage - SO different to the usual sanitised supercar stuff

However, I'd like to know how (according to the PH guide) the early 350bhp versions only managed 160mph - are they particularly draggy? Given that a Ferrari F355 had a book top speed in the mid 180s from roughly the same power, I'm slightly surprised the Ultima is so low (relatively speaking). Based on my very limited reading of what a sorted Ultima is capable of, I would have thought an F355 wouldn't see which way it went...

Edited by Nigel_O on Thursday 6th September 18:22

[jimult1]

I already claimed it...it covered 1 miles worth of fuel.

[ol]

My yellow LS7 ultima is for sale at the moment in the PH classifieds. Been a PH readers car feature done about it and recently on the cover of complete kit car magazine. There is nothing out there better for the money than a well sorted Ultima!

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I recently took mine on a 2,000 mile euro trip to the Pyrenees with friends, and aside from running out of fuel a couple of times (turns out a 7L is thirsty when pushing on) it was faultless!

Video edit (long) of the trip here -

https://youtu.be/u7fwu17IbR4

Edited by ol on Friday 7th September 10:18

[323ti]

Awesome cars, but am I correct in saying that you must spec them with an Ultima provided choice of Corvette V-8's?
I mean, with the light weight of this car, it would be quick with a Lexus LS400 sourced V-8, right?
Or even say, something like the 3.0 flat six from a Legacy Spec-B? Both around the 245bhp mark.

Asking for a friend...

[ol]

323ti said:

Awesome cars, but am I correct in saying that you must spec them with an Ultima provided choice of Corvette V-8's?
I mean, with the light weight of this car, it would be quick with a Lexus LS400 sourced V-8, right?
Or even say, something like the 3.0 flat six from a Legacy Spec-B? Both around the 245bhp mark.

Asking for a friend...

You could put whatever engine you like in, but 245bhp would mean it was a pretty slow Ultima!