Jock Freemantle, the 68-year-old Kiwi behind the Hulme CanAm, sent us an e-mail about last week's official unveiling of the supercar. Freemantle was joined by scores of people, including Auckland Mayor John Banks, racecar driver Kenny Smith, vehicle engineers, and other excited supporters.
We first told you about the 600 horsepower Hulme CanAm back in February. Named after Kiwi F1 Champ Denny Hulme, the car uses Chevrolet's 7.0-liter V8 which produces a maximum of 600 Nm of torque. Freemantle's two-seater supercar has a top speed believed to be between 300 (186.4mph) and 320 km/h (198.8mph), and looks like it can haul ass around a racing circuit.
Five party attendees won the chance to be whipped around during a speed lap, but rainy weather meant the laps had to be postponed. To date, the vehicle has been tested on five different New Zealand circuits, and has also been driven around New Zealand. The day after the party, Freemantle took Mayor John Banks for a ride over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
At US$700,000, the price could be the biggest deterrent in purchasing the car. But we wish these upstarts the best of luck, as they try to bring their supercar to market in Europe and the Middle East.
Hulme CanAm supercar hits the road after launch party
By Zack Newmark
June 8, 2009 8:29 PM
Filed Under: Asian, Specialty Marques, Supercars
Tags: Hulme CanAm Supercar, Hulme CanAm, CanAm, New Zealand Z1GP, Z1GP, Jock Freemantle, Denny Hulme
Comments
N20_Purge
June 8, 2009 8:39 PM
$700,000? This makes the car it is trying to copy (Caparo T1) look cheap...
Slideways240
June 8, 2009 8:47 PM
700,000 WHAT!! thats crazy. I was thinking mybe 100,000 at the most but for 700,000 im buying something way sicker than that.
Scuderia-Paul
June 8, 2009 8:56 PM
US$700,000 is ridiculous money for this car! They would have struggled to sell that 3yrs ago never mind nowadays.
I would much rather a Caparo T1 and a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano for example. US$700,000... pfff.
HEMI426
June 8, 2009 10:07 PM
Nice car. Good engine. I notice that many of these small car companies are jusing the 7.0 corvette z06 engine rather than the 6.2 zr1.
Siawa
June 8, 2009 10:32 PM
Even if this car was US $100,000.. I'd still never purchase it. Who wants to look like a clown driving this thing.
kimbo
June 9, 2009 12:43 AM
lol 700.000$? are they mad or what? You can have a Caparo T1 for much less, and even if this "Hulme" would cost 100.000 I'd still take Caterham R500 or an Atom 300bhp.
Uloszaminje
June 9, 2009 1:46 AM
This car is not trying to copy caparo, because it came out as a concept long before caparo.
Aesthetics
June 9, 2009 8:31 AM
i wonder how much of this car is bespoke to justify the price tag. if that engine is of the shelf chevy crate LS7 then that cost USD25,000 only. the wheels look off the shelf as well. they sell 10 of these and they are way beyond te targeted profit.
sovietmole
June 9, 2009 5:44 PM
yea i agree. i rather buy the corvette itself. get a lot more minus the weird looks on people's face. a 300km/h weirdo car from a kiwi backyard for USD700k? nuts.
joelynn
June 9, 2009 12:30 PM
well it looks good but i think everyone agrees 700,000 is crazy money for it
Prince_Ash
June 9, 2009 3:36 PM
700,000 is overboard, i would honestly think by looking at it and reading the specs i would expect it to be around 150,000. 700k is just absured.
Designer75
June 10, 2009 10:35 AM
Unbelievable that this ugly, cheap looking and useless car exists on this planet....well done guys, you rock!
sensei
June 10, 2009 7:02 PM
These cars are nothing more than ego orgasms that will have no impact on the automotive world.
blay
June 14, 2009 11:45 AM
good god even the kiwi's can make a supercar... WHAT ARE YOU DOING AUSTRALIA/!? :p
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