The Ultima GTR is a
supercar
A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...
manufactured by
Ultima Sports Ltd
Ultima Sports Ltd. is an English sports car manufacturer based in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
History
The first Ultima produced was the Ultima Mk1 produced in 1983 by Lee Noble of Noble Motorsports Ltd.
Vehicles
The company manufactures and ...
of
Hinckley
Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The car was available both in
kit form and as a "turnkey" (i.e. assembled by the factory) vehicle until early 2015, when it was replaced by the
Ultima Evolution. The design is
mid engined, rear wheel drive layout, with a tubular steel
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure (Three-dimensional space, 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometry, geometric pattern. Space frames can ...
chassis and
GRP bodywork. A
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...
version called the Ultima Can-Am was also produced. Kit builders were free to source and fit a variety of engines and transmissions but the
Chevrolet small block V8 supplied by American Speed mated to either a
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
or
Getrag
Getrag (), stylized as GETRAG, was a major supplier of transmission systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the ''Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik ...
transaxle
A transaxle is single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission (mechanics), transmission, axle, and differential (mechanics), differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual tra ...
was the factory recommended standard, and this configuration was fitted to all turnkey cars.
Performance

Ultima focused their marketing efforts on record-breaking activities using a model equipped with a American Speed engine, called the Ultima GTR640, and subsequently, a at 6700 rpm and a maximum torque of at 4400 rpm
Chevy
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
Origins
The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...
called the GTR 720. As a result, they established the following official, independently verified records
for a production car equipped with road tyres and exhaust:
*Fastest 0– time: 2.6 seconds
*Fastest 0– time: 5.3 seconds
*Fastest – time: 1.8 seconds
*Fastest to 0 mph braking: 3.6 seconds
*Fastest 0 – – 0 mph time: 9.4 seconds
*Best performance on a skidpad: 1.176g lateral grip in a circle.
*Fastest road car over the 1/4 mile: 9.9 seconds @
Due to its kerb weight of ,
the
power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...
for the GTR720 is per tonne, which is a better ratio than the
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti, and manufactured in Molsheim, France by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pi ...
,
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...
,
Ascari A10,
Koenigsegg CCX
The Koenigsegg CCX is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car manufactured by Swedish automotive manufacturer Koenigsegg, Koenigsegg Automotive AB. The project began with the aim of making a global car, designed and engineered to comply with ...
or
CCGT, but less than the
Koenigsegg CCXR
The Koenigsegg CCX is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Swedish automotive manufacturer Koenigsegg Automotive AB. The project began with the aim of making a global car, designed and engineered to comply with global safety and environment ...
or the
Caparo T1. However, the Ultima chassis is rated for engines up to and some of
Ultima's customers, notably
Jeff Schwartz, have fitted engines producing or more,
for a power-to-weight ratio of over per tonne, which is approximately twice the power-to-weight ratio of the aforementioned cars and nearly the same as the
Caparo T1's ( per tonne, but this is a "dry" tonnage and the bhp PS kW/tonne would be reduced once oil, coolant, gasoline, etc. are added, compared to the Ultima figures above which are "wet" weights). There are also other model designations for the kits, including the GTR 660 and GTR 730.
In 2007, the GTR720 was independently timed lapping the
Top Gear test track
The ''Top Gear'' test track located at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, United Kingdom was used by the BBC automotive television programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear''. The track was designed by Lotus Cars as a testing facility, with man ...
in 1 minute 12.8 seconds, at least one second faster than all other times listed on the ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
'' television programme's
Power Board at the time.
In October 2009 Ultima set another time of 1 minute 9.9 seconds, but this time in a configuration not suitable for use on public highways.
Ultima have been keen to point out that this time is faster than those set by both the Ferrari FXX and the Caparo T1; of which neither were deemed to be acceptable road cars by the Top Gear presenters shortly after these times were set.
In 2011,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n workshop Black Falcon Cars mated an Ultima GTR chassis and a modified
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
GT3 transmission with a
Chevrolet V8 turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
by Nelson Racing Engines to achieve on racing fuel and made it fully
road legal under the brand name Black Falcon SBC-TT1750.
In 2015 the GTR and Can-Am names were retired and replaced by the
Ultima Evolution range, which represents a complete reengineering of the package.
Trims by Power Output
Notes
External links
Ultima Sports Ltd.Details on the record-breaking 0-100-0 testMacG Racing - A British team racing the Ultima GTR in Britcar and elsewhere
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultima Gtr
Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Sports cars
2000s cars
GTR
Cars introduced in 1999
Kit cars
Cars discontinued in 2016
2010s cars