Hulme Canam

                                           Hulme Canam.

One of the star attractions at next month's Sydney motor show (officially known as the Australian International Motor Show, or AIMS) is the prototype of the Hulme CanAm supercar, named in honour of New Zealand's only formula one world champion, the late Denny Hulme.
It has been positioned as the Down Under equivalent to another supercar bearing the name of a kiwi racing legend - the British-made McLaren F1.
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CanAm weighs less than 1000 kg (2204 pounds) and seats two peopleSuch low weight is possible thanks    to  race-oriented chassis and carbon composite tub and bodywork. It is powered by the 7.0 L LS7 V8
 sourced from the Chevrolet Corvette C6 and produces 600 hp (450 kW) However, mated to a 2,182.7 lb (990.1 kg) weight gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 3.6 lb (1.6 kg) per hp.

Hulme Supercars first unveiled a prototype - a closed cockpit derivative of the CanAm - at the UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2006, before inviting and assessing further consumer opinion at high-status events in the Middle East and China.

Positive feedback led to the development of the open-top CanAm, and the unveiling of the pre-production car, which will now enter an extensive dynamic testing phase, prior to build of the production model.
The road-legal CanAm features an ultra-lightweight carbon composite tub and bodywork and race-orientated chassis, suspension and braking, and is powered by a hand-built 7-litre (427cu.in) Chevrolet V8 developing 600bhp and 600Nm torque, fed through a close-ratio, six-speed CIMA gearbox.
As a consequence of its lightweight construction, the Hulme CanAm weighs in at less than 1,000kg but, despite its sensational performance and emphatic race car credentials, Hulme Supercars’ design and development focus has been on driveability, with power delivery and handling dynamics optimised for maximum driving enjoyment on track and on the road.
The Hulme CanAm is scheduled for limited production build in 2010, with a proposed ten units to be built at a provisional price of EUR 295,000.