Kahn Design Speed 7 Brings 1930s Racecars Back to Life

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Posted by Zach Doell

                                       

Kahn Design may be best known for up-fitting Land Rovers to super-luxury specs, however the British styling firm has announced a new, more engineering-intensive project—bringing vintage racecar designs back to life. 

 

In a press release, company boss Afzal Kahn revealed plans to build a new car, inspired by the iconic grand prix racing machines of the 1930s. Known as the Speed 7, the limited-production car is said to utilize modern materials, technology and construction methods, despite its classic appearance, and will be geared for track driving only.

Two teaser images of the Speed 7 have been released, which exhibit a low-slung grand prix racer shape with a tartan fabric interior, louvered hood and tail sections, and side-pipe exhaust—served up in right-hand drive configuration. The number of cylinders feeding that exhaust remains in question, however.

According to the UK’s Autocar, the throwback racer could be a hybrid.

Kahn suggests the track car could initially sport a small gasoline engine, with a hybrid system coming at a later date, all at a cost of around £70,000 ($107,000 at today’s rates).

 “There’s huge demand,” Kahn told the magazine, “And the track day customers that I spoke to were very enthusiastic about the idea of a hybrid.”

To complete the build, the UK styling firm said it’s talking with existing British engineering companies for track car expertise, and alluded to the extensive use of aluminum and carbon fiber composites in the vehicle’s construction.

“Speed 7 is something that I’ve had in my head for a couple of years now,” Kahn told the magazine. “We know how to finish and trim a car so it’s like a jewel—but we want other specialized British engineering firms who have experience of a ground-up build and homologation process to get involved with us.”

Speed 7 marks the third big-build of 2015 for Kahn Design, which previously unveiled the Mercedes 6×6-rivaling Flying Huntsman Defender 6×6 at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, and will soon finish the Aston Martin-based WB12 Vengeance grand tourer.