Hulme F1: New Zealand's New Supercar

By Feann Torr - 26/04/2005

Thanks to a wild design - looking like the bizarre lovechild of a Ferrari Enzo and a long lost Lotus concept car - a low centre of gravity and a powerful BMW-sourced engine, a new vehicle is putting New Zealand on the supercar map.

Developed by SupercarsNZ, a company set up by Auckland-based entrepreneur Jock Freemantle, the Hulme F1 supercar has been developed in secret over the last two years.

Tony Parker, an Associate Professor and head of the Massey University's industrial design department, coordinated the design team on the low slung supercar.

"New Zealand has established a reputation for building the best yachts in the world," said Parker. "I believe we also have the technical capabilities and the industrial infrastructure to create a quality, hand-built performance car."

Time will tell, but with an estimated price tag of $400,000, the Hulme F1 supercar will be off limits to most of us, and will undergo crash testing in the near future, with production to start in 2006.

SupercarsNZ reckons it will produce roughly 100 of the F1-inspired vehicles per year.

Powered by a 5.0-litre BMW V8 engine, the Hulme supercar was named after New Zealand's only Formula 1 champion, Denny Hulme. He was world champion in 1967, just beating his Australian team mate (and team principal) Jack Brabham.

Thanks to a mid-mounted engine, the adoption of lightweight (carbon fibre) construction materials and a 335kW (450hp) V8 engine, the Hulme F1 supercar will be a top performer, and together with a kerb weight of 1175kg it should give the established Rampaging Bulls and Prancing Horses reasons to be just a little bit nervous.

As you can see from the photos, the Hulme F1 supercar is no shrinking violet. It's open wheel race car design and bold front end with strong visual links to Formula 1 racing cars make it a head turning vehicle and no mistake.

Looking at the Kiwi supercar from some angles, there's a lot to like. From the front there's the F1-inspired nose cone flanked by a pair of headlight clusters that also act to create an aerodynamic effect over the front tyres. This area is very much Ferrari Enzo territory and will be the centre of discussion for many passionate auto enthusiasts.

Following the sleek body of the car from the nose cone, it's width increases dramatically, curving around the vehicle's bulbous greenhouse, leading to the rear of the car where a massive rear wing improves downforce over the rear axle. Rectangular exhaust pipes, subtle engine vents and a gargantuan rear diffuser finish off the rear of the rapid road car.

The V8 engine, which will thump away audibly from behind the driver, is a 5.0-litre V8 job from BMW, the same engine used on the old BMW M5, albeit with a higher state of tune. The naturally aspirated 4941cc engine will rev to 7000rpm, has DOHC and 4-valves per cylinder and will generate about 335kW of power in the Hulme F1 application.

As well as the aforementioned carbon fibre body construction, the Hulme F1 is rumoured to be hooked up to a Quaife 6-speed sequential gearbox, which will divert power to the rear wheels.

In addition to engine braking and other frictions, deceleration is taken care of by 362mm AP racing discs front and rear, with 6-piston calipers up front and 4-pot calipers at the rear. And if you like fat wheels, you'll love this New Zealand creation: it sits on 19-inch rims up front with 235/35 rubber, and 20-inch rims at the rear shod with super-low-profile 345/25 tyres.

And it's not as small as the photos would have you believe. Measuring 4612mm in length and almost 2 metres wide (1958mm), it is however very low, as most supercars are, standing slightly over a metre tall (1065mm).

Will we see the Hulme F1 in Australia? Will there be a 4-cylinder version? Will it run on Av-Gas? We will have to wait patiently until 2006 for these answers, but right now one thing is for sure; the Hulme F1 is an entirely curious creation. Borne from a marriage of entrepreneurial finance and the academic know-how of universities, the New Zealand supercar's effects are mesmerising.

As universities search for more ways to make a buck, we could see more of these sorts of collaborations happening, and it will be very interesting to see how the already promising Hulme F1 performs against the world's best when it makes it production in 2006.

SuperCarsNZ.com