In the beginning of June, a new player in the automotive scene, VÜHL Automotive, announced their presence at Goodwood. With their lightweight sports car, the small company wants to take on the battle with brands like Caterham, KTM and Ariel. We don’t know what to expect but we do know that it has got 400 bhp per 1000 kilograms
No exotic name for this Mexican company. VÜHL is an abbreviation for Vehicles, Ultra High-performance and Lightweight. 05 comes from the racing number the father of the owner raced with. The car is brainchild of brothers Iker and Guillermo Echeverria. Their design office is established in Mexico and draw the striking trackday-car. Their passion for cars comes from the role in the GT and Formule-racecars of their father, Guillermo Echeverria senior. When it comes to experience, everything’s allright for VÜHL Automotive.
The monocoque of the 05 only weighs 78 kilos and the total weight is only 695 kilograms. The chassis is made out of a three-section glued epoxy resin aluminum chassis, which originated in the air- and space- craft. This gives the car a remarkably strong stiffness for the ultimate handling. The standard bodywork is made by RTM plastic, which simply is consolidated plastic. The car has got a completely flat bottom plate and many spoilers which provide the maximum amount of downforce.
The power comes from a two-liter Ford four-cylinder DOHC turbocharged EcoBoost engine with a power of 285 hp and 420 Newtonmeters of torque. Because of the very low weight, the 05 only needs 3.7 seconds to reach hundred kph. The top speed is 245 kilometers per hour. VÜHL Automotive connects the engine to a manual six-speed gearbox.
Minimalistic, that’s how you can call the interior. Carbon fiber bucket seats keep you in place. The steer is 330 millimeters wide and upholstered with waterproof velvet. There is a camera between the head rests for filming. Two SD-card adapters are connected to the car, one for filming and one for the driving data.
Photos by Alexander van Boekholdt
