| All-new sportscar | 2008 Canary Wharf Motorexpo | Breckland Beira |
The Breckland Beira is described as an all-new British sports car and it is set to come with a 400bhp 6.2-litre V8 engine. Built in Norfolk, the Beira is claimed to cover 0-62mph in less than five seconds and will have a top speed limited to 155mph.
However, the Beira is not as British as first seems, as the V8 engine is sourced from the Corvette and the chassi it's mounted in is from a Pontiac Solstice two-seater, which is only sold in the USA. Unfortunately, that means the Beira will only be available in left-hand drive for the foreseeable future.
Breckland boss Mike Rawlings makes no apologies and said: "We didn't set out to reinvent the wheel and the Solstice platform offers a highly competent chassis that has already been subjected to crash and safety tests."
He continued: "Since all of the hard work has been done, it has enabled us to keep development costs low. Over the years, we have seen many supercars come and go and we are determined we won't fall into that same trap."
Despite its big power V8, the Beira is also claimed to have some environmental credentials as it can run on Liquefied Petroleum Gas as well as normal petrol. Together, this gives the Beira a range of 700 miles between fill-ups.
Described as a modern replacement for the likes of TVR and Marcos, the Beira comes with 19-inch alloy wheels and upgraded suspension and brakes over the Pontiac. The looks have also been changed from the Solstice's to give a more British feel, while inside the Beira has leather and Alcantara seats and a manually operated fabric hood.
The Breckland Beira will be launched at Motorexpo at London's Canary Wharf on 9 June. It's expected to go on sale in November in the UK with a price tag of £55,000.
Alisdair Suttie - 3 Jun 2008