2012 Hulme F1
The Hulme F1 is very much like the Caparo T1. Not that the cars namesake was any stranger to F1, but he was, for
better or worse, known for his sportscar racing. Specifically, Danny Hulme really tore up the CanAm circuits back in the
late 1960s and early 1970s. Him and company founder, chief designer, test
driver, racer and all around great guy, Bruce McLaren had the North American
racing series so much in their pocket, people openly referred to it as “The
Bruce & Denny Show” for what seemed like forever.
Years later, and that racing success is but a memory, and both
Bruce and Denny are no longer with us (McLaren was killed in a testing accident
in the 70s, and Hulme died of a heart attack while competing in a vintage
race), but, this whole go fast, kick ass, sell some cool cars gene seems to run
fairly deep on the far side of the world. Ergo, the Hulme F1 is slated for a
2012 delivery.
What does one get, should one choose the Hulme F1 over, say a
Caparo or a Ferrari or a customized steam train? You get a 700-horsepower,
Chevrolet-derived V8, which certainly fits, since the boys used to run Chevys
exclusively in their CanAm cars. Said plant is wadded into the center of a
carbon fiber and kevlar shell, natch, since that’s where engines should go.
Weight is a staggeringly low 2,300 pounds, which
is about what a new Miata tips the scales at. The boys behind the
Hulme F1 hope this will translate into a 0-60 sprint of under 3.5 seconds.
Which, if memory serves, what about what their big-block CanAm cars could do.
