Your chance to own a ready-to-sell sports car company. Who’s in?
[Not a valid template]People often dream of buying a small sports car, but how about a small sports car company?
The Avocet, a sportscar programme based in the UK, is being advertised for sale as a ready-to-go concern. The enterprise is being offered by a company called MMI, which according to its press release, took a deliberate decision to use a recent lull in the car market to develop and test the Avocet and now wants someone with cash to take over and start producing the car.
The programme includes designs, data and production and intellectual property rights. MMI says there’s plenty of scope for future variants of the car, different options and alternative components.
So, what it is the Avocet? It’s derived from a project started back in the late ’90s under the Strathcarron name, which was taken over by MMI. Launched in its latest form at the UK’s Autosport Show earlier this year, it’s a lightweight two-seater, with an aluminium honeycomb chassis, doorless one-piece moulded bodyshell and various Ford components, designed to an on-the-road price of less than £30,000 ($45,000). According to MMI, it has “exceptional chassis dynamics and awesome performance” thanks to work with partners including Roush Engineering, Caterham Technologies, Reynard and Ray Mallock. Power comes from a 150bhp , 2-litre Ford engine, with a 225bhp Mountune version also available. MMI says the car weighs only around 700kg, and can hit 100kph in less than five seconds. The body design is by superyacht firm Claydon Reeves and designs for a Spyder version are included in the sale.
Unlike the bulk of kit and track-day cars currently available, MMI says the Avocet is a fully-equipped road-going sports car, with plenty of customisation options, even down to luggage that clips into cradles behind the cockpit. Future options include hybrid powertrains, left-hand drive or even centre-drive possibilities and, just maybe, a version of the car created entirely from 3D printing.
MMI boss Martin Miles says “We have done all the background work and development already. Development delays are what typically put product introduction plans behind, when companies are trying to respond quickly to an upturn in the market. The Avocet is ready to go – now.”
So, is this a genuine chance to have your own sports car company ready to wow the world, or another chapter in the long drawn-out saga of a sports car that’s never quite made it to production over almost 20 years? We’re not industrialists, so we’ll leave it to potential investors to decide. Either way, we’ll be intrigued to see what happens to the Avocet from here.
