In one of those really interesting paradigms that happen, while the rest of the world’s automotive business posts record-breaking losses of profit, a little engineering firm with a big pedigree enters the supercar ring.
Mulholland Group, based out of Derby, England, has been a composite component specialist house for Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship, among others, for over 20 years. To give an idea of how important their work is, for F1 teams that do not have in-house composite groups or exorbitant research budgets, Mulholland is an official FIA subcontractor for the driver survival cell, the monocoque that extends from the engine firewall and headrest all the way to the tips of the drivers’ toes.
Now, however, they have decided with all their expertise in carbon fiber, carbon-aluminum layering, and carbon-kevlar bonding, that the time is ripe to produce a new supercar.
Called the Legend 480 Coupe, the car is heavily based on the long bonnet, short tail layout of classic British designs like the AC Cobra, the TVR Cerbera, and the Jaguar E-Type.
Details are very scarce at the moment, apart from knowing that the name refers to the 480 HP V8 that prowls under the lightweight hood. In the modern world of supercars, that doesn’t even seem like that much power.
Mulholland Group will remind you, with possibly a small tug upwards a the corners of their mouths, that they are carbon and composite specialists for some of the most demanding, weight critical motorsports in the world. So expect the Legend 480 Coupe to be light.
Extremely light. Colin-Chapman-would-be-proud light. Possibly, as internet rumors are whispering, as light as 2,200 pounds (approximately 1,000 KG) light before the engine goes in.
As well, one of the only other details that Mulholland Group has let officially slip is that to keep weight down, the car will come with a 6-speed manual transmission only.
Mulholland is already taking orders, but no pricing is yet publicly available. Production is, surprisingly, expected to begin in the Summer of 2020, with first deliveries taking place in either August or September 2020.
