Meet Ultima’s £95k, 1020bhp supercar

Meet the Ultima Evolution. Ultima, for the uninitiated, is a British sports car maker, and it's been selling its GT-R and Can Am models in both kit and pre-built forms for over 15 years now.

Its cars are very fast. So replacing them with something called ‘Evolution' suggests something very very fast.

There are, in fact, 15 different power outputs available from a range of Chevrolet LS V8 engines. Things kick off at a smidge over £38,000 for a 350bhp Evolution in kit form, or £65,995 if you'd rather the men in the factory built it. This is probably a sensible idea.

But it's the £95,995 Evolution range-topper you really want to know about. Think that sounds like a lot for a British-industry supercar? Well, its 6.8-litre supercharged V8 cranks out 1020bhp, more than a Bugatti Veyron. The Ultima is a tenth of Veyron money, though, and at 950kg, weighs half as much.

The result? We're told the range-topping Evolution hits 60mph in 2.3 seconds, 0-100mph takes 4.9 seconds while 150mph is reached in 8.9 seconds. Just 0.3sec later it completes the quarter-mile at 156mph. Yep, Fast and Furious fans, this is a Ten Second Car.

It'll achieve 0-100-0mph in 8.8 seconds, around a second quicker than the Bugatti despite the Ultima's tech-eschewing manual gearbox and its lack of four-wheel drive or fancy electronic nannies.

There's just one Top Trumps department in which the Ultima falls (relatively) short: top speed. Its ‘gearing limited' 240mph is well behind the Big Bug as well as Hennessey's Venom GT, though probably sufficient for the rest of us.

While it comes with coupe and speedster-like convertible options, the Evolution looks little different to the GTR it replaces, posh new LED lights notwithstanding.

"The Ultima has taken its inspiration from the Group C Le Mans race cars and this is something we are very proud of indeed," the company says. "The Ultima shape is something different and permanent compared to the ever-changing crop of latest supercars."

Under the skin, though, the Ultima has evolved technologically over the years. Helping ensure 1020bhp doesn't simply grenade the tyres before sending you treeward, the Evolution gets the latest, stiffest chassis and fanciest steering and suspension systems from the outgoing GTR.

More prosaically, satnav, iPod and Bluetooth connections, a heated windscreen and a reversing camera are all available too, though the Evolution's interior is certainly far more committed (read: basic) than just about all of its rivals. It is a heck of a lot cheaper, though.

Over to you, then. The stats may beat all your favourite hypercars, but can a £95k Ultima ever touch them for poster appeal? And would you dare aim for 240mph in one?