If you’re going to build a car yourself — why not build your own supercar?

One question I’ve often asked myself is what gives a car ‘supercar’ status?

It appears to me that the definition of a supercar varies hugely, and from what I can gather, three elements remain constant — a top speed in the region of 300kph plus; handling beyond your wildest dreams; and the ability to attract the unwanted attention of local police officers.

So, does the term ‘supercar’ equate solely to high-performance cars, or is high-cost and exclusivity sufficient to gain entry into this elite class? For example; would you consider a Bentley Arnage Turbo a supercar? Probably not, although it’s dependent totally on whose opinion you ask. As we all know, performance goalposts are constantly changing, and I doubt whether one can ascribe a certain minimum performance criteria standard — for example; ‘Must reach 320kph, must accelerate to 100kph in under 4.9 seconds.’

At the end of the day a supercar is a high-end sports car that often costs more than most people would ever dream of paying and, as such, usually only the very rich can afford such vehicles, which are considered more status symbols than practical modes of transportation.

The supercar designation could apply to any number of cars and the definition between an ordinary sports car and supercar is somewhat blurred. Generally, a supercar will have an engine that is capable of producing several hundred kilowatts enabling the car to achieve staggering top speeds and acceleration that would leave most drivers gasping for breath. In some cases, supercars are used as race-cars although, as a rule, this is not generally the case as supercars are specialized instruments built for speed and not necessarily for racing. The supercar often does not have the safety features needed for a truly safe racing experience.

While supercars have attracted the attention and imagination of many, they have also attracted the ire of some, often looked upon as gluttonous machines that do nothing but create envy while causing irreparable harm the environment.

Ultimate Dream

Mark Wilson confesses to not being a petrol-head and, in fact, is not at all mechanically minded, or so he says. His first and only experience with a classic car was when he owned a Corvette Stingray many years ago, and he has since built a mobile home, which has been home for the past five and a half years. Mark’s work involves extensive travelling around New Zealand, and the mobile home was the perfect choice. Looking inside his massive mobile home, which had been a luxury coach in a previous life, it was clearly obvious that Mark’s technical abilities are substantially higher than he was letting on, and his modest nature in this area was rather refreshing.

Mark has always admired exotic cars and hoped that one day he could construct his own. He was originally going to build himself a hot rod — that was until he spotted a picture of an Ultima GTR in a magazine whilst passing through Stratford, back in 2000. Mark believed that the Ultima would far exceed his budget, but after years of intense investigation, concluded that he could build one himself without blowing the budget.

Seven years later Mark ordered his Ultima GTR. It was just a matter of simply sending a cheque off to the British manufacturer of this beauty. In due course the car arrived in New Zealand, all wrapped up in dozens (45 to be exact) of boxes. No engine, though.

No engine, I hear you say. Well, before you turn the page you’re not going to believe this because, once the specially built engine arrived from Chevrolet specialist, American Speed, this car had the potential to be quicker than the latest Porsche Turbo or any standard Ferrari.

Mind you, to be fair, unlike these production cars the Ultima GTR is more or less a street-tuned race-car, which is difficult to climb in and out of while lacking such features as air bags and most creature comforts.

The street legal Ultima GTR went through 14 months of research and development before being launched in 1999. This extensive R&D ensured this low-volume supercar delivered the highest levels of fit, finish and performance. The chassis and suspension package has been extensively road and race tested in Ultima’s existing Sports model.

With a car capable of speeds in excess of 320kph, aerodynamic efficiency was of significant importance. With this in mind, Ultima’s engineers gave the car a long rear to help clean up the airflow and improve downforce — all fully tested at MIRA (the Motor Industry Research Association).

MIRA was so impressed by the results that it was happy to have the Ultima GTR as the centre of its show display at the 2000 Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham.

The Build

The Ultima GTR can be bought as a turnkey supercar, however, it is also available in component form, for assembly by home enthusiasts such as Mark Wilson.

Mark commenced building his GTR in August 2007. With 100 steps to follow Mark studied the assembly manual and CD intently, and usually had his laptop set up ready so that he could refer to the CD for any additional information along the way.

He was impressed by the superb quality of all the components and engineering throughout the car.

The chassis was developed over thousands of kilometres of track testing, and is a fully triangulated space frame with integral crash protection zones. It is also fully jigged for total uniformity and includes all suspension mounting points and an integral roll-cage welded to the main frame.

The chassis’ final finish is powder coated black to form a corrosion-free finish. The suspension components — including wishbones, uprights and toe links — are all precisely manufactured using the very best materials. The entire brake system includes lightweight TIG-welded pedals, a carefully balanced master cylinder with SVA approved fluid level warning system and specially designed AP Racing curved vane, cross-drilled 320mm brake rotors and four-pot alloy callipers suitable for road and track day use.

The centrally located steering rack, which allows for an angled steering column, features an alloy casing specially designed for Ultima by Triton. Other special items include the front hubs, brake lines, cooling system, gear linkages, custom alloy fuel tanks, coil-over spring dampers, drive shafts, wiring looms, stainless steel exhaust system, laminated front windscreen and shatterproof polycarbonate side screens — all supplied by Ultima and manufactured to the highest quality.

The Ultima GTR wheels are custom designed with CNC-machined, solid billet alloy centres bolted to anodized rims supplied by OZ Racing.

Inside the Ultima GTR interior is somewhat sparse, as you would expect from this type of car. However, the leather-wrapped seats and white instrumentation add a touch of class and contrast nicely with the body, which is constructed from unstressed GRP finished in red.

The Ultima GTR engines are developed and built specially for Ultima by American Speed, USA. Ultima chief, Ted Marlow, investigated many engine options from around the world before choosing American Speed as the exclusive engine supplier to Ultima.

The engine in Mark’s GTR is the 6.3-litre version boasting AFR 195 CNC-ported aluminium cylinder heads, an Edelbrock intake manifold with Holley carburettor, a Mallory distributor, competition hydraulic roller camshaft, Eagle rods and a RPM 4130 steel crankshaft combining to develop approximately 394kW (529bhp). The engine is mated to a Porsche G50 five-speed transaxle.

Mark is amazed at how well the car came together, and it required only a some phone calls to Ultima to confirm a few queries throughout the build process. The overall finish and build quality is what you would expect from a production vehicle and cannot be faulted.

Hanging On

After our photo shoot Mark treated us to a ride in his GTR, something I wasn’t expecting — but deep down hoped he would offer.

Firstly, the trick was climbing into this beast after a few instructions from Mark as what to hang on to. It was very important that every limb be strategically positioned in order to slide in. I expect that after a few entries and exits this could be achieved with a little more finesse than I could manage. Once I was snuggled inside the cockpit, Mark assisted in adjusting the full harness safety belts and ensured that I was well restrained. His entry was 10 times quicker than mine, and within a few seconds the small block Chevy V8 was rumbling behind my ears.

These engines have a completely different sound when gases are emitted through stainless steel exhaust systems, it’s somewhat crisper and emanates a higher note than from a standard mild steel system.

As we headed off rather sedately, my eyes were everywhere, trying not to miss anything — from the impeccably trimmed dash pad and refreshingly simple layout with its five plain white gauges logically placed, to the expressions on people’s faces as we drove by.

Mark was also talking to me, telling me all about the car’s handling characteristics and how easy it was to drive around town. It actually wasn’t that hard to hold a conversation, as the cabin was extremely intimate to say the least and, as the gear-shift was tucked neatly between the driver’s seat and right sill, there wasn’t much space between passenger and driver.

I was waiting for it — you know what I’m talking about! You don’t go for a ride in one of the world’s fastest supercars just for a leisurely cruise around the block and, as we were in fifth gear (I was counting), I was waiting a little nervously for the change down.

Then it happened — Mark’s hand reached down and selected third gear and all hell broke loose. Everything happened in split seconds as the hand-built Chevy screamed into action, producing relentless power and propelling us forward like nothing I could ever have imagined. I should have expected exactly this, knowing the GTR’s official performance figures — 0-100kph in around 2.6 seconds — but it still took my breath away as I was slammed into the back of the Ultima’s leather-lined passenger seat.

Although my eyes were being forced into the back of my skull, I managed to keep at least one sunken orb on Mark, who was utilising all his skills to keep the GTR’s venomous power under control as he attempted to keep this rocket-ship travelling in a straight line under full-bore acceleration. However, when the GTR’s rear rubber gained traction, stickability seemed almost endless and, after that initial burst of energy, the car never showed any further signs of becoming unstuck.

That instant acceleration was absolutely unbelievable, and in what seemed literally seconds we had run out of road and the sensational AP Racing brakes were sloughing off the speed as Mark set the car up for the next corner.

He told me that he hadn’t yet fitted the Ultima’s front splitter because it was too low to the ground, which would cause problems around town, and at high speed it was obvious that the front was starting to become a little unstable without this vital aerodynamic aid. He pointed this out as we stormed down the road — although, by this stage, I could barely hear Mark above the thunderous roar of the V8. As we ambled back to Mark’s home, my adrenaline levels slowly returned to normal. Even then, I couldn’t quite believe what I had just experienced. More importantly, how could I accurately convey the exhilaration of this machine without making it sound like just another fast car. I have read that there isn’t a car on the planet that can run with the Ultima GTR, and that it has broken just about every single speed record there is to break. On the strength of my eye-popping ride in Mark’s car, that’s something I don’t have any difficulty in believing. Sensational would be a severe understatement of the GTR’s capabilities.

The Ultima GTR is a supercar in every sense of the word. When coupled with the top spec engine available a maximum speed of over 320kph is possible — and you can build one yourself in the home garage!

Ultima History

The Ultima GTR was born in the UK. Lee Noble, a freelance car designer, designed and built the first Ultima in 1983 for a British kit-car racing series. It used many Renault parts, including a 200kW V6 engine mounted amidships. The Ultima was so successful on the track that Noble went on to sell 40 race-cars before 1988, when he updated it. One of the 13 new models was purchased for about $25,000 by a civil engineer named Ted Marlow.

Marlow was a weekend racer and did what most race-car owners do — he customised the Ultima to his liking by swapping the V6 for a 328kW (440bhp) Chevrolet small-block V8. In 1992 — after four years of modifying and perfecting his V8-powered Ultima — Marlow, then 44, purchased Noble’s enterprise. Marlow intended to transform the Ultima into a civilised street car, but one that retained track prowess.

During this 18 month project, Marlow replaced the Renault parts with Ultima-specific units. He outsourced various bits and pieces but did most of the work himself, for example brakes were designed and supplied by AP Racing.
Since 1995 Ted Marlow’s small factory in Hinckley, England, has turned out about 200 Ultimas and has recently began selling them in California through the Costa Mesa shop belonging to Mike Mullen, a retired marketing executive.

McLaren Connection

McLaren was so attracted to the Ultima’s excellent engineering, outright speed, lap times and racing prowess that it decided to choose the Ultima to be used as a drivetrain test bed during the development of one of the world’s most expensive and prestigious road cars, the McLaren F1. The fact that the Ultima was significantly under the design weight of the proposed F1 car and was proportionately very similar was also an important factor in the decision.
Postscript

Mark completed the construction of his Ultima in exactly one year and, due to ongoing University studies and the fact that he is unable to drive the GTR as much as he would like, has regretfully decided to put his self-built masterpiece up for sale. If you are in the market for something very special, direct serious enquiries to Mark at — signsandwonders@xtra.co.nz.

2009 Ultima GTR – Specifications

Engine        American Speed, Chevrolet V8        Capacity         6.3-litre
Valves         Two valves per cylinder/ohv
C/R         9.8:1
Max power         395kW
Max torque         700Nm at 4200rpm
Fuel system     Four barrel Holley carburettor
Transmission     Porsche G50 five speed transaxle
Suspension F/R     ¨Unequal length wishbones with Nylatron joints, adjustable coil spring dampers
Steering         Rack and pinion
Brakes         F/R power assisted AP Racing discs
Dimensions:
Overall Length     4000mm
Width         1850mm
Wheelbase         2560mm
Height         1070mm
Kerb weight     990kg
Performance:
Max speed         342kph estimated
0-100kph         2.6 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile     9.9 seconds

Words: Ashley Webb, Photos: Dan Wakelin

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