Climax Sports Racer Turns Production in 2010

After seeing an avalanche of electric vehicle queuing up for their 2010 release, it's time to take a well deserved break and have a look at a racer powered the good old fashion way.

You might have heard by now about the Climax Sports Racer, a car born by the hands of a Coventry based company called... Climax Cars. If, however, this is the first time you heard about it, then your in luck. The car has just been confirmed as production ready for 2010.

Powered by a mid mounted 4.6l V8 sourced from Ford Racing, the Climax develops 345 bhp and 305 lbs.ft of torque. Together with the Graziano GT ME1 gearbox sending power to the rear wheels, the engine catapults the car to 60 from a standstill in 3.7 seconds and keep on doing so until the speedometer freezes at a climax of 175 mph (281 km./h).

If that's not enough, a well placed supercharger turns the regular Sports Racer into the Sports Racer S and changes the acceleration figures to 3.2 seconds naught to sixty time and 190 mph (305 km/h).

Climax Cars will begin assembly of the car in early 2010, with the first units expected to hit the streets sometimes during spring. The price tag for one of the 200 examples to be built will start at £92,000, but the list of options, which includes sequential / semi-automatic gearboxes, ceramic brakes and full race harnesses will get you well above that. Will it be worth it?

"Our research shows that there is increasing demand for performance cars that have striking design and exemplary build quality coupled with a high power-to-weight ratio, that can compete dynamically and in terms of exclusivity with more established supercar marques but, crucially, undercut them in terms of affordability by a sizeable margin,” says Ian Howe, Climax Cars commercial director.

To translate what Mr. Howe said, we will remind you of our most recent poll: "On which supercar would you rather spend your money on, giving their similar performance?" Given the choice between a $145,000+ Audi R8 V10, a $200,000+ Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a $375,000+ Lexus LFA, 56 percent of those voting chose the cheaper R8. And, by the way, the R8 accelerates slower than the Climax, in 3.9 seconds, but is a bit faster than the Climax S: 196.4 mph (316 km/h)...