The Ultima Evolution is a Bargain Bugatti Veyron

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell

 

                                

The original Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is a stunning bit of machinery. When it arrived in 2005, it summoned 1,001 horsepower, 922 lb-ft of torque, and dashed to 60 mph in only 2.5 seconds. There’s just one problem—Bugatti only made 450 in total, and they all cost over $1 million. 

 

That’s not a sum many people can shell out at will. Neither is $105,000, however, that comparatively small figure is all that is needed to unlock Bugatti-rivaling performance, and the UK-designed Ultima Evolution is the kit supercar to do it.

Here are a few performance numbers to salivate over: zero to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds, zero to 100 mph in 4.9, and zero to 150 mph in only 8.9 seconds. Gadzooks. Take a look at the supercar’s dramatic showreel, below.

That Veyron-rivaling performance comes courtesy of a lightw
eight design and a heaping dose of American V8 performance. Under the curvarceous body lies a supercharged, mid-mounted 6.8-liter Chevrolet V8, which can propel the 2,094 pound Ultima Evolution up to a top speed of 240 miles per hour. No electronic aids or trickery here, just a manual gearbox driving the rear wheels.

 By comparison, the all-wheel drive Veyron 16.4 is faster and hits a speedy 253 mph. Then again, it does weigh nearly twice as much (4,162 lbs.) and costs ten times more.

Interestingly, the Ultima Evolution do
esn’t have to be a Veyron rival. The knife-edged machine is available fully-built or as a do-it-yourself kit car, and boasts 15 different power outputs from an array of Chevrolet LS V8s. Not shooting for the moon? At the lower rung of the performance ladder lies a 350 horsepower variant, which costs only $57,000 in kit form.

Those familiar with Ultima Sports Ltd. will recognize the Evolution’s unwavering design. Inspired by Group C race cars, the Evolution replaces the similarly styled and now-discontinued GTR and Can-Am cars. You can even spec one up in convertible form, though the hardtop coupe is arguably the meaner looking of the two.