Goodwood debut for cool Vuhl supercar

FLEDGLING global supercar-maker Vuhl is set to debut its first model, the 05, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

The company has released the first teaser images of the lightweight vehicle that was penned by brothers Iker and Guillermo Echeverria at their Mexico City design studio, ahead of its track debut at the 'First Glance' event at Britain’s Goodwood from July 11.

A front three-quarter shot reveals a gaping honeycomb grille, menacing black panels running across the length of the front of the car, large air intakes and three circular LED head-lights that sit above the Michelin tyres wrapped around big cross-drilled brake discs.

The second image shows a camouflaged 05 from the rear revealing an open-cabin two-seat coupe, a formula one-inspired shape and a gaping hole in its rear-end.

Powertrain and performance details remain a mystery.

Vuhl – which stands for “vehicles of ultra-lightweight and high-performance” - features a body built in Canada. It was engineered for better handling in Britain, went under further testing in Europe and the US, and has its assembly line in Mexico City.

Vuhl director Iker Echeverria said the street-legal 05 will be tested with a variety of Michelin tyres before its debut at Goodwood.

“We will take part in the supercar run as part of the ‘First Glance’ class at Goodwood, and look forward to appearing on the stand at the Michelin Supercar Paddock amongst many of our heroes from the world of high performance cars and motorsport,” he said.

Vuhl has the financial backing of a number of “blue-chip” companies as well as the Mexican government and is connected to a number of suppliers including Ford, race car specialists Multimatic, and Michelin.

Also making its track debut at the English automotive extravaganza is the Peugeot RCZ R.

Billed as the fastest road-going Pug in the French car-maker's history, the RCZ R's 1.6-litre turbo-charged engine pumps out 194kW of power.

Peugeot claims that the RCZ R will also be one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles producing more than 119kW of power per litre, aiming for carbon dioxide emissions of 155g/km.

A European release is slated for late this year with a likely local berth in early 2014.

GoAuto confirmed last month that an RCZ R production run of 500 vehicles would begin at Austrian car-making specialist Magna Steyr in September with Peugeot Australia hoping for an allocation of 20 units.