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Archive for December 9th, 2007

I decided to make a separate gallery for this high performance Supercar. When I first saw this car over a month ago I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. For those who may not know here are the blistering specs for this car:

The Ultima GTR is a supercar manufactured by Ultima Sports Ltd of Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, available both in kit form and as a "turnkey" (i.e. assembled by the factory) vehicle. The design is mid engined, rear wheel drive layout, with a tubular steel space frame chassis and GRP bodywork. A convertible version called the Ultima Can-Am is also produced. Kit builders are free to source and fit a variety of engines and transmissions but the Chevrolet small block V8 supplied by American Speed mated to either a Porsche or Getrag transaxle is the factory recommended standard, and this configuration is fitted to all turnkey cars.

Recently Ultima have focused their marketing efforts on record-breaking activities using a model equipped with a 640 bhp (brake horsepower) American Speed engine, which is called the Ultima GTR640, and subsequently, a 720 bhp (537 kW) engine which is called the GTR720. As a result, they have established the following official, independently verified records for a production car equipped with road tires and exhaust:

• Fastest 0-60 mph time: 2.6 seconds
• Fastest 0-100 mph time: 5.3 seconds
• Fastest 100-0 mph time: 3.6 seconds
• Fastest 0-100-0 mph time: 9.4 seconds
• Best performance on a skidpad: 1.176g lateral grip in a 200 ft (60 m) circle.
• Fastest road car over the 1/4 mile: 9.9 seconds

The Power-to-weight ratio for the GTR720 is more than 650 bhp (480 kW) per tonne, which is a better ratio than the Bugatti Veyron, Enzo Ferrari, Ascari A10, Koenigsegg CCX or CCGT (but less than the Koenigsegg CCXR) , and Saleen S7. However, the Ultima chassis is rated for engines up to 1,000 bhp (700 kW) and some of Ultima’s customers have fitted engines producing 1,000 bhp (700 kW) or more, for a power-to-weight ratio of approximately 950 hp (708 kW)/tonne, which is approximately twice the power to weight ratio of the aforementioned supercars and nearly the same as the Caparo T1’s (1170 hp/tonne, but this is a "dry" tonnage and the hp/tonne would be reduced once oil, coolant, gasoline, etc. are added, compared to the Ultima figures above which are "wet" weights).

The car has been timed lapping the Top Gear test track in 1 minute 12.8 seconds, beating the top time listed on the Top Gear television programme, as set by a modified Koenigsegg CCX, by over 4 seconds.

This car does not disappoint. It’s beautiful to look at and has amazing power. VIR gave more of a chance for the car to shine with its nimble maneuvering through corners and staggering acceleration on the straights. It was wonderful to just watch the car speed through turns and power away.

Please take a moment to check out this dazzling car.

Ultima GTR Picture Gallery:

I spent the first day of the month at VIR capturing photos for the PCA Charlotte and what an exciting event it was. VIR is a great track with lots of vantage points where you can get up above the action and get a clear view. There are plenty of turns and some long straights where the cars really hit some breakneck speeds. I was only able to attend for one day, but walked away with nearly 1,500 shots on the day. There is so much to see that it’s hard not to hold the shutter down.

The Porsche GT3s were in full force with almost a dozen on display. No matter how you look at it, the GT3 is a beautiful and powerful car. Not to be outdone, a GT3 RS made an appearance in it memorable orange body with black trim. As if the full display of Porsche’s weren’t enough, an Ultima GTR also came out to play. At VIR this beauty got a chance to strut its stuff. A unique and extremely fast vehicle that just makes you want to take pictures of it.

My time out there was far too short, but they will be out there again next year and I’m sure I’ll be spending the full weekend out there. I’m definitely going to need some bigger memory cards by then.

Check out the gallery of VIR here: