Can This New German Supercar Really Match The Veyron?

It's about time a new name established itself on the supercar scene. The last upstarts to turn up and manage to stick around were Pagani and Koenigsegg, and they're both onto their second models by now. Want fresh supercar meat? I give you: the Weber F1.

F1 here stands for FasterOne, not anything to do with Formula One racing. That's weird, since the Weber has been dreamed up by a few ex-BMW F1/Sauber engineers, and uses an old-school F1-inspired V10 engine. What you're looking at is all road legal though, and with a claimed top speed of almost 250mph, it's serious business. It's on sale next month (no prices yet), but here are the specs.

Weber's F1 is pretty tiny: it's wider than a Range Rover, but shorter than Porsche Boxster and lower than a Lambo Gallardo. That's a good thing, since small cars = fun cars. Sitting behind the two-seater cabin is a twin-turbo 5.6-litre V10, pumping out 1183bhp (same as a Veyron Supersport). That poke, along with 922lb ft of twist, is sent to trouble all four wheels via a six-speed paddleshift gearbox.

Those are Veyron figures, but the FasterOne is way lighter. The all-carbon chassis and body helps it tip the scales at just 1250kg - the same as a Toyota GT86, or 700kg lighter than a Veyron. Yikes.

On that basis, you might fight the speed specs a little underwhelming. The FasterOne hits 62mph in 2.5sec (same as a Veyron) and 186mph in 16.2sec - slower than the LaFerrari, but quicker than a McLaren P1. It'll top out at a claimed 400kph (248mph). So it's slower than a Veyron after all that effort! What gives?

What does indeed give is the promise of a hybrid KERS version that could come soon, creating a Hennessey Venom-busting 1600 horsepower. The catch? Weber needs wealthy investors to bankroll that plan. So if you're feeling flush, give them a call - we want to see this mental electro-shocker on the street.

At least they've spent a few quid sorting the styling. The first Weber F1 concept of 2008 was heroically ugly - these latest renders of the production car are a lot better to these eyes. Just look at what you could've been investing in!