The Ultima Evolution is a limited-production British sports car from Ultima Sports of Hinckley, Leicestershire. Announced in April 2015 as the replacement for the Ultima GTR, it is a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive machine with a tubular steel space frame and a glass-fibre body, sold either as a kit that the buyer assembles or as a complete car built at the factory. Its engines are all General Motors LS-family V8s, tuned from about 350 to 1,020 bhp.
Ultima Evolution at a glance
| Maker | Ultima Sports Ltd, Hinckley, Leicestershire, England |
|---|---|
| Production | From 2015; replaced the Ultima GTR and Can-Am |
| Body styles | Two-door coupé or convertible, butterfly doors |
| Layout | Mid-mounted V8, rear-wheel drive |
| Chassis and body | Tubular steel space frame with aluminium panels and built-in roll cage; glass-reinforced plastic body |
| Engines | 6.2 L LS3 V8, 480 hp; 7.0 L LS7 V8, 700 hp; 6.8 L supercharged LS V8, 1,020 hp and 1,247 N·m (920 lb·ft) |
| Gearbox | Six-speed manual made by Porsche |
| Suspension | Double wishbones at both ends with adjustable coilovers |
| Wheels and brakes | 18-inch forged alloys (19-inch optional); 323 mm vented discs at both ends |
| Size and weight | Length 4,000 mm, width 1,850 mm, height 1,070 mm, wheelbase 2,560 mm; 950 kg |
Specifications from English Wikipedia; New Atlas reports the same 950 kg and 1,850 mm width. Ultima lists more than 15 states of tune, from 350 bhp to 1,020 bhp; the table shows the three engines Wikipedia names.
From a kit-car racer to a supercar
The story begins with Lee Noble, who built the first Ultima in 1983 while still living at his parents’ house, as a car for the 750 Motor Club’s kit-car championship. When other racers asked to buy one it became a cottage industry. The first cars used Renault V6 engines, but customers soon wanted Chevrolet V8 power. In the early 1990s Ted Marlow bought the rights and tooling, and the company developed the Ultima Sports, then the open Spyder.
The sharper-styled GTR replaced the Sports in 1999, alongside the open Can-Am. The GTR is the car the Evolution grew out of: Ultima says the new model is the product of more than 15 years of research since the GTR and Can-Am were launched, and the Evolution keeps their Le Mans Group C-inspired body shape. The chassis, however, was developed further for performance, road holding and safety.
What is new on the Evolution
- Engines: LS-based General Motors V8s. The top 1,020 bhp engine is supercharged and, according to New Atlas, supplied by American Speed, the specialist that re-engineers Chevrolet V8s for Ultima.
- Cabin: leather and Alcantara trim, a carbon-fibre centre console with a stainless-steel handbrake lever, a flat-bottomed steering wheel with wireless controls, and an Alpine stereo and navigation system.
- Everyday touches: LED headlamps and tail lamps, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera set into the rear grille.
- Choice of body: coupé or convertible. The Evolution coupé and convertible keep the body styles of the GTR and Can-Am respectively.
The numbers Ultima claims
Ultima sells its cars on records. For the Evolution it claims 0–60 mph in 2.3 seconds, 0–100 mph in 4.9 seconds, 0–150 mph in 8.9 seconds, a standing quarter mile in 9.2 seconds at 156 mph and a top speed above 240 mph. New Atlas notes that Ultima describes every one as a world record and that the times were not independently verified when it reported them in April 2015, so treat them as the maker’s figures.
The GTR laid the groundwork. According to Wikipedia, a factory-built GTR720 with an American Speed V8 recorded 0–100–0 mph in 9.4 seconds on road-legal tyres, timed with GPS equipment by an official from Guinness World Records timekeepers Datron. The same car lapped the Top Gear test track in 1 minute 12.8 seconds, unofficially but with an independent timekeeper present, and 1 minute 9.9 seconds on slick tyres, which Ultima points out beat the 1:10.7 of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari FXX. Sources differ on the date of these runs (Wikipedia gives 2005–2006, Silodrome 2009), so we do not date them here.
A test bed for McLaren
Ultima’s steel space frames have also served as development hacks for far more expensive machines. English Wikipedia records that McLaren used two Ultima Mk3 chassis to test the gearbox, central driving position and BMW V12 of its F1, and later an Ultima GTR to try out the linked hydraulic suspension of the MP4-12C. Goodwood notes that Gordon Murray, the F1’s designer, used two Ultimas as development mules.
Kit or complete car
Ultima supplies its cars primarily as components for an owner-builder. In the United States that is the only way to receive one, including a “rolling body” built up to everything except engine and gearbox; in Europe a complete turnkey car is available too. At launch New Atlas reported prices from £65,995 (about $100,000) and first deliveries expected in September 2015; Wikipedia gives £95,995 for the supercharged 1,020 hp car. Buying the kit part by part spreads the cost, as Silodrome noted of the GTR, and a second-hand V8 and gearbox can lower it further.
The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is explained in our guide Engine layouts explained. More machines like this are in our Exotic Cars collection and the Ultima archive.
Ultima Evolution questions and answers
Is the Ultima Evolution a kit car?
Both. It is sold as a kit that the buyer builds, or as a complete car built at the factory.
How much does it weigh?
Wikipedia and New Atlas both give 950 kg, light for a supercar of its power.
What engines does it use?
General Motors LS-family V8s: 480 hp (6.2 L), 700 hp (7.0 L) and a supercharged 6.8 L with 1,020 hp. Ultima lists more than 15 power levels in all.
Which car did it replace?
The Ultima GTR (coupé) and the Can-Am (convertible), which were retired in 2015.
Based on English Wikipedia, New Atlas, Goodwood and Silodrome. Performance figures are manufacturer claims; photographs show the GTR, whose body the Evolution coupé keeps.
Sources
- Ultima Evolution, English Wikipedia: specifications, engines, price
- Ultima GTR, English Wikipedia: the predecessor and its records
- Ultima Sports Ltd, English Wikipedia: company history, kit supply, McLaren mules, Top Gear laps
- Ultima Evolution leaves other supercars for dead, New Atlas (April 2015): launch details and claimed performance
- Ultima has been punching above its weight since the 1980s, Goodwood: Lee Noble, the Marlows, the McLaren F1 mules
- Ultima GTR, Silodrome (February 2014): the GTR as kit and turnkey car
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