Friday 24th May 2019

The Speeding Man: Time For Tea?

You may know of the Proteus C-Type, but few have seen it in action - time to change that!

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How does this sound as a vehicle description? "Proteus Sports & Racing is a small, thoroughly British sports car company based in Henley on Thames. They combine handcrafted aluminium coach building with cutting edge technology to create a car with the spirit of a 1950's Le Mans racer and the driveability of a modern day car." Pretty good, right?

Like the original, the Proteus is a car developed on the racetrack, a process documented in this video - 'The Speeding Man'. The man in question is Proteus test driver Fabio Randaccio - he was always going to be a test driver with a name like that, wasn't he? - ably demonstrating what we all love about old cars, be they originals or recreations. Specifically that's a howling engine - in this case, of course, the Jag XK straight six - and a handling balance that seemingly demands some level of oversteer. That these traits are combined with that timelessly pretty shape makes for very easy, very enjoyable watching.

In fact, the only downside appears to be the sun's unwillingness to come and join The Speeding Man's fun - even if that does allow for more lurid slides than you'd normally expect. That's something that should be rectified shortly, though, as PH will be driving the Proteus in the coming (hopefully sunnier) months; be rude not to get a sound and shape like this on video, wouldn't it?

 

The Speeding Man from Proteus Sports & Racing Cars on Vimeo.

[Miserablegit]

Lovely - just a tad more than a "dab of oppo"

Buy one now, use it hard and in a few years the paint will have settled/aged with the correct patina for the car.

[and31]

Superb!!!

[geo1905]

It looks like a huge amount of fun, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.....and a look of terror to any passenger's ! Hurry up and buy one before future governments decide that "fun & "driving" are mutually incompatible and "must be banned"

[Park-ut4ry]

Fantastic - what an experience that must be. So different to the usual 'stick it in D and go 180mph everywhere' modern supercars. I really hope this is a huge success. Lovely video editing as well!

[MikeT66]

What an absolutely glorious thing that is. Great little video.

[AmosMoses]

Looks like jolly good fun!

[Fetchez la vache]

Beautiful car, beautiful engine note, and a voice-over by The Queen (that has to be a first?).

[HeMightBeBanned]

The driver’s real name is Chris Randall and you can find him at Hofmann’s Lotus In Henley-on-Thames. He’s a very handy driver, having competed in all manner of fast machines including an 800bhp Nissan Group C racer.

[soad]

EVO Magazine Proteus Review: https://vimeo.com/296946165

[vodkamartini1]

Miserablegit said:

Lovely - just a tad more than a "dab of oppo"

Like trying to wrestle a salmon from a bear. Marvellous.

[LordGrover]

What-ho! Wizard jape!

[unsprung]

the sound, the glory

[griffdude]

I wonder how quickly it lapped Blyton?

[Matty3]

Absolutely top notch fun - great that we still build superb retro cars like this - it really is nostalgia totally nailed - love it - how much?

[TWPC]

Ooh: that is totally gorgeous... The lottery lists gets one car longer. When is that win coming?

[TWPC]

Matty3 said:

Absolutely top notch fun - great that we still build superb retro cars like this - it really is nostalgia totally nailed - love it - how much?

In the Evo vid, they say it is a similar price to a Honda NSX (£142k) or Audi R8 convertible (£137k for the cheapest version).