This New British Sports Car Weighs 850kg And Doesn't Cost The Earth

Our list of the best sports cars packs some pretty impressive machinery, like the Alpine A110, Toyota Supra, Jaguar F-Type and Porsche Cayman, but what happens if you don’t fancy any of those? Well, if you’re deeply pocketed, you could create your own brand-new sports car. That’s what Robin Wells did, and now the Wells Vertige has been revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Britain is built on ambitious yet unsuccessful sports car projects, but this one doesn’t run on unobtainium and doesn’t use bonkers next-gen technology that’ll never get certified. Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre nat-asp Ford engine with 208bhp, connected to a proper six-speed manual gearbox.

That doesn’t sound very sports car-esque, given that it’s only 10bhp more than a Fiesta ST. But it’s plenty when the whole car weighs just 850kg - a good few hundred kilos less than the Lotus Emira. As such, 0-62mph takes under five seconds and a top speed of almost 150mph. That’s on the standard engine; the company says it won’t be difficult to extract a little more performance.

The car doesn’t look particularly racy, either. You don’t get any wild spoilers and active aero, only a couple of small vents by the doors to cool the engine. The wheels are tiny by modern standards at 17 inches. Those wheels and the regular engine should help to make the Vertige hassle-free to own, too. There’s even room for luggage and a full-size spare wheel in the boot.

The body is svelte and well proportioned, with curvy lines like a ‘60s racer. There are influences from other sports cars in its design; we see a Ginetta or Lotus Elise in the front end, and there are shades of a Bristol or Jensen in the rear three-quarter. Perhaps the one supercar-like feature is its McLaren-like dihedral doors. We feel they nicely complement the Fiesta indicator stalks.

You might be surprised at its compactness - it’s the same length as a Ford Fiesta, and a bit narrower to make it more agile and manoeuvrable. No crowd will gather when you try and park, because it’s small enough to making parking spaces a piece of cake. Standard equipment includes two USB ports, red leather seats and a seven-inch Sony touchscreen.

25 cars are going to be produced per year, and Wells is currently building its own factory in Warwickshire. Prices will start from £45,000, and there are nine colour and trim options.

What do you think of the Wells Vertige? Let us know below.