The V-what now? If you aren’t acquainted with the VUHL 05, we’re much obliged to tell that it comes from Mexico, pricing starts at $99,900, and there’s no full-size windshield on the menu. The open cockpit machine at hand is a racecar with license plates, and VUHL is now planning to sell it in the UK thanks to evergrowing interest for the lightweight supercar.
Managing Director Guillermo Echeveria declared that he’s happy with the “bank of orders for Mexico and the Middle-East,” but now it’s time for VUHL to enter the British market. Speaking of which, isn’t Her Majesty’s United Kingdom the stomping ground of the Radical, Ariel Atom, Lotus 2-Eleven, and countless other lightweight yet street-legal road racers?
Priced at £59,995, the Mexican company is adamant that 40 percent of the VUHL 05’s components are made in the UK, which is a pretty good percentage of domestic content. The highlight British-built component is the 2-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, pushing 285 bhp to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. It’s not a lot, but you don’t need a lot.
With lightweight machines, the power-to-weight ratio is the name of the game. Weighing in at 695 kilos, the VUHL 05 happily boasts with 400 bhp per ton, a figure that will make gearheads wet their underpants. With 60 mph (96 km/h) coming in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph (241 km/h), who can say no to such performance in such a tiny package?
This editor would because the pricing is ridiculous, there’s too little in the way of creature comforts, and the Michelin rubber appears to be grippy enough that it would be troublesome to kick the tail out just for fun. Keep in mind that a Catherham Seven 620R is £10,000 less costly, more powerful, faster, and even madder than the VUHL. But if extreme isn’t what you looking for, some say that the 660 cc-engined Caterham Seven 160 with its super-skinny tires is the most fun Caterham of them all. Yours from £15,995.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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