New buyer: General thoughts on the Ultimas
Discussion
Greetings lads,
There was a great show in Copenhagen yesterday featuring a lot of very fast race cars including the 5x Le Mans winning car - Audi R8. Of course there were a lot of show cars too, except for the Carrera GT, Ford GT, F430, Porsche GT2, Porsche Turbo, Lamborghini Gallardo, Chevy Z06, my dad and I managed to bump into a "Ultima Sports". - www.ultimasports.co.uk -
This one had 355 bhp which isn't a great deal, but we were under the impression it could be factory tuned to 700 bhp quite cheaply. It was for sale and the owner merely asked £40,000 for it. It weights around 1,000 kg and therefor with a possible 700 bhp exceptionally fast and interesting. It had gone 8,000 miles. I know this is an outdated version but really who cares, it's fast and nimble enough for a calculated 1000 km usage a year.
It's actually a self assembly car, so is it any safe to drive? It doesn't have ABS or TC and no airbags either. I doubt they would be road legal if they weren't safe to crash in. How's the reliability in it, does it even run properly? I'd just like to hear some general thoughts.
The thing is it would be a great fun car as an addition to our current E60 M5. Of course we wouldn't register this one cause then you would've to multiply the price by 3. You could just run it with test plates whenever you felt like taking it for a spin.
Cheers,
Gustav
PS: I posted nearly the exact same questions on m5board.com, member Ashok Arora was kind enough to direct me to a forum with a bit more knowledge on the subject. So I'm hoping you can help me out.
There was a great show in Copenhagen yesterday featuring a lot of very fast race cars including the 5x Le Mans winning car - Audi R8. Of course there were a lot of show cars too, except for the Carrera GT, Ford GT, F430, Porsche GT2, Porsche Turbo, Lamborghini Gallardo, Chevy Z06, my dad and I managed to bump into a "Ultima Sports". - www.ultimasports.co.uk -
This one had 355 bhp which isn't a great deal, but we were under the impression it could be factory tuned to 700 bhp quite cheaply. It was for sale and the owner merely asked £40,000 for it. It weights around 1,000 kg and therefor with a possible 700 bhp exceptionally fast and interesting. It had gone 8,000 miles. I know this is an outdated version but really who cares, it's fast and nimble enough for a calculated 1000 km usage a year.
It's actually a self assembly car, so is it any safe to drive? It doesn't have ABS or TC and no airbags either. I doubt they would be road legal if they weren't safe to crash in. How's the reliability in it, does it even run properly? I'd just like to hear some general thoughts.
The thing is it would be a great fun car as an addition to our current E60 M5. Of course we wouldn't register this one cause then you would've to multiply the price by 3. You could just run it with test plates whenever you felt like taking it for a spin.
Cheers,
Gustav
PS: I posted nearly the exact same questions on m5board.com, member Ashok Arora was kind enough to direct me to a forum with a bit more knowledge on the subject. So I'm hoping you can help me out.
I think you should find us a more detailed specification for the car.
Which wing type, brakes, Air conditioning(unlikely), engine size and spec, wheel sizes and type, etc.
All of these factors will effect the price. As a first thought £40,000 sounds quite high particullarly for around 300bhp. Going to 700 is possible with the right engine but will not be cheap. It's unlikely the existing engine could be modified to that.
Happy to help but need those details.
Steve
Which wing type, brakes, Air conditioning(unlikely), engine size and spec, wheel sizes and type, etc.
All of these factors will effect the price. As a first thought £40,000 sounds quite high particullarly for around 300bhp. Going to 700 is possible with the right engine but will not be cheap. It's unlikely the existing engine could be modified to that.
Happy to help but need those details.
Steve
We were told that the order form consisted of a lot of options. The owner said everything was bought, biggest brakes, A/C, carbon rear-wing, best wheels and tires... Buttom line is that the car is full-spec'ed, except for a bigger engine. What is your rough estimate cost on putting a, let's say, 550 bhp engine into it?
EDIT: I read a bit more on the Ultima website, I'm unsure what type of transmission this car had but as I understand it the different types of transmissions are located different places on the car. It was a RHD with (as I recall it) a 5-speed gearbox at the right hand. Hope it helps a bit.
Looking forward to a reply,
Gustav
What is your rough estimate cost on putting a, let's say, 550 bhp engine into it? EDIT: I read a bit more on the Ultima website, I'm unsure what type of transmission this car had but as I understand it the different types of transmissions are located different places on the car. It was a RHD with (as I recall it) a 5-speed gearbox at the right hand. Hope it helps a bit.
Looking forward to a reply,
Gustav
Edited by MortenDK on Monday 7th August 13:24
Edited by MortenDK on Monday 7th August 13:24
The current Ultima models are GTR and CanAm. The CanAm being the soft top.
Prior to that there was the 'Sports' and 'Spyder'.
Both current models use Chevy V8 engines and Porsche G50 5 or 6 speed gearboxes. The earlier models used mostly Rover V8 engines and Renault gearbox.
It is not yet clear from your description as to which model/year we are talking about. Your first post that you had seen an 'Ultima sports' lead me to think older model but now I think we may be talking about something younger.
Steve
Prior to that there was the 'Sports' and 'Spyder'.
Both current models use Chevy V8 engines and Porsche G50 5 or 6 speed gearboxes. The earlier models used mostly Rover V8 engines and Renault gearbox.
It is not yet clear from your description as to which model/year we are talking about. Your first post that you had seen an 'Ultima sports' lead me to think older model but now I think we may be talking about something younger.
Steve
If it is a Sports then it is well over price.
Check the 'Classifieds' section on Pistonheads and see a 1999 sports recently sold £26,000 or a 2004 GTR at £37,750.
How safe is safe? I have no issues with the safety of my car. If your intention is to use it on track then you are unlikely to want air bags, ABS and TC.
Reliability is unlikely to compare with a production car. It's a race derived design and race cars usually have large pit crews for a reason.
Steve
Check the 'Classifieds' section on Pistonheads and see a 1999 sports recently sold £26,000 or a 2004 GTR at £37,750.
How safe is safe? I have no issues with the safety of my car. If your intention is to use it on track then you are unlikely to want air bags, ABS and TC.
Reliability is unlikely to compare with a production car. It's a race derived design and race cars usually have large pit crews for a reason.
Steve
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