Every so often, Ultima cars gets out the Ultima GTR and cracks another world record. Of course, world records come and go, but at present the Ultima GTR is the fastest car in the world, including the likes of Bugatti Veyrons:
- From 0-100 mph in 5.3 seconds
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From 0-100mph and then back to a standstill in 9.4 seconds
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On the skid-pan where it can be cornered at 1.176 g
Nor is Ultima an upstart. The company has been making sports-racing and super sports cars for 20 years, but now concentrates on models powered by Chevy V-8 engines. These are supplied by American Speed in various specifications, are built from scratch, and are available at extra cost with aluminum cylinder blocks. So here is one very fast car, timed at 204 mph on a short track, but capable of around 230 mph.
Latest in 20 years of Ultima super sports cars
The Ultima GTR is the latest in the line of Ultimas, and like the others is an unashamedly practical high speed supercar. There is also a roadster version called the Can-Am.
It has a bluff nose with small air dam, leading up to a sharply sloping hood, between almost square fenders. There are tiny air intakes for the brakes alongside a simple rectangular grille, and air from the radiator exhausts through the hood, while there are tiny little air outlets behind the front wheels. Unusually, there are four headlamps behind plastic covers in the fenders.
Like the Zonda, the Ultima GTR has a narrow coachroof, which reduces frontal area, and a fastback with an air intake to the engine. There are also big air intakes before the rear wheels. At the rear is a large wing to generate the downforce needed at high speeds. There is no rear window, so you are dependent on the external mirrors for rear vision – not a strong point of the Ultima GTR.
As many Ultimas are raced, the complete front and body sections hinge to provide easy access to the running gear. Also, to make it easier to get into such a low car, the doors hinge upwards – these days this is quite common among exotic cars.
Any American Speed engine you like
American Speed produces a special range of V-8 engines for Ultima, and you can have anything you want from a mild 300 bhp to 720 bhp. The most popular units are:
6.3liter – 535 bhp - $12,550
6.3liter – 640 bhp - $17,625
6.6liters -720 bhp - $26,850
These are the standard prices if you buy your car without an engine, or as a kit, which many customers do. You can also buy a fully built-up Ultima GTR.
All Ultima GTRs are extremely quick, with the Ultima GTR 640 holding many records before the GTR 720 came along.
A special heavy-duty clutch is used, and the V-8 is coupled to a modified Porsche G50 five-speed gearbox – five speeds are plenty with the massive power and the good spread of torque of the tuned V-8.
The basis of the Ultima GTR is a stiff tubular space frame with integral roll-over hoop with a lightweight composite bodywork, and bespoke components. The suspension is by double unequal length wishbones, coil springs and Intrax dampers, which are made specially for the GTR – both the ride height and damper settings are adjustable. Aluminum alloy hub carriers are used front and rear.
Both front and rear brakes are AP, with four-pot calipers operating on 12.5-inch (320 mm) diameter cross-drilled and ventilated discs. Ultima uses two-part aluminum wheels, with rims mounted on centers that are machined from solid billets. Unusual among European cars, Ultima specifies Goodyear Eagle F1 Fiorano tires – 245/35ZR18 fronts and 335/30ZR18 rears.
How fast?
As I said at the beginning, the performance of the Ultima GTR depends on the power, but of course, the low weight of the Ultima is also important in giving that performance. All the models weigh about the same, with the GTR640 weighingh 2,180 lb (990 kg). With that light weight – lower than anything comparable, and 25% less than the SSC Aero Ultimate for example – the power-to-weight ratio is amazing.
In fact, the Ultima GTR640 has a power-to-weight ratio of 640 bhp per tonne, and the GTR720 an amazing 727 bhp per tonne. Even the GTR535 bests the Bugatti Veyron in this respect, and most exotic cars are down in the 400-500 bhp per tonne range.
No wonder, then, that the Ultima GTR accelerates so quickly, although it also benefits from excellent weight distribution and good traction – it could not reach 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, and 100 mph in 5.9 seconds without that.
Acceleration, braking and cornering are what high-performance supercars and exotic cars are all about. The Ultima GTR720 can accelerate to 100 mph and brake to a standstill in 9.4 seconds, compared with 9.9 seconds for the Bugatti Veyron, 10.9 seconds for the Ferrari Enzo and 11.5 seconds for the McLaren F1.
High-powered cornering
What about cornering? Well, the 200-foot diameter skidpan is popular in the USA for measuring cornering power, but elsewhere it is used more to test wet grip, with engineers preferring to test the actual handling of a car on different bends with adverse cambers and so on. Therefore, a high skidpan reading is not necessarily a good indication of good handling, although from what I have seen it is clear the handling of the Ultima is pretty good.
In any event, the Ultima GTR manages 1.176g on the steering pad, compared with 1.07g for the Porsche 911 GT1, 1.01g for the Ferrari Enzo, 0.99g for the Porsche Carrera GT, Saleen S7 and Ford GT40 (not the Ford GT), and 0.94g for the Bugatti Veyron.
So you can see that if it is ultimate performance you want, you need an Ultima GTR. You can actually buy a basic kit without power train £18,500,and you would need to add about £15,000 for the engine and transmission – and a lot of labor. That way you would have an extremely powerful car for about $70,000 (£36,000). Or you could buy a fully built-up GTR535 for around $130,000 or a GTR720 for $145,000.
If it is power you are after, the Ultima GTR is fantastic value.
