After many months of secrecy, the VŪHL 05 road-legal lightweight supercar has finally arrived, and was revealed to an exclusive audience in London for the first time today.
Unveiled by VŪHL Automotive founders Guillermo and Iker Echeverria and Alberto Chapa to an audience of invited press, VIP guests and motorsport royalty, including Sir Stirling Moss and Chairman of the FIA Foundation Tim Keown, the exciting newcomer’s first outing met with a very enthusiastic reception.
Ambassador Alejandro Estivill, Chargé d’Affairs of the Mexican Embassy to the United Kingdom, said: “I am very proud to welcome VŪHL Automotive to London, the global city in which the Echeverria brothers have chosen to launch their remarkable new supercar. The enthusiasm with which it has been received at the prestigious Royal Automobile Club today marks an excellent start for VŪHL Automotive’s new venture, and will help put this new supercar firmly on the map ahead of the first deliveries next year.”
VŪHL Automotive Design Director, Iker Echeverria, responded: “We are very excited to be revealing the detail specification of our new supercar for the first time here in London today. The VŪHL Automotive team is attending the launch in force, and very much looking forward to the 05’s world public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next week (July 11-14), where we will appear alongside many of our heroes from the world of motorsport and supercars.”
The VŪHL, which only landed in the UK from Mexico late last week, will run in the ‘First Glance’ class at Goodwood as part of the Michelin Supercar Run, and will be piloted on the Friday and Saturday by popular British driver, former Renault UK and Formula Ford Festival Champion Duncan Tappy, and on the Sunday by Mexican F1 rookie Esteban Gutiérrez.
The 05’s handling has been fine-tuned in the UK, while further testing and development is scheduled to take place with assistance from Michelin later this year, both in the U.S. and Europe. Production is scheduled to commence this November, with the first deliveries following in the spring of 2014. The bodies are being fabricated in Canada, with chassis production and final assembly conducted by the advanced manufacturing concern, Adman Leku in Mexico City.
VŪHL (the name is pronounced ‘vool’ and stands for Vehicles of Ultra High-performance and Lightweight) is the brainchild of brothers Iker and Guillermo Echeverria, whose Mexican/American design company penned the breath-taking 05. Their profound passion for all things automotive comes from a hands-on role in the GT and formula racing cars successfully built and campaigned over a 30-year period by their father, Guillermo Echeverria senior.
Backed by a number of blue-chip companies and the Mexican Government, and with an inventory of renowned suppliers and development partners that includes Ford, Multimatic and Michelin, the VŪHL 05 has been precision engineered for the track and endowed with exhilarating performance for both the road and the circuit.
Visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed can meet the VŪHL Automotive team at Stand #12 in the main arena, where a complete car and separate chassis will be on display. When not on the hill, the example running in the ‘First Glance’ class will be located either on the cricket pitch or the main stand in the Michelin Supercar Paddock.
