Autoblog

click the image above to view a high-resolution gallery of the Melling Hellcat

Thanks to an avid Autoblog reader, we're pleased to bring you pictures of the final prototype of the Melling Hellcat supercar that's being developed by famed British engine designer, Al Melling. We've reported on the Hellcat a couple times in the past, but the details surrounding this supercar have changed. As you can see, the final design is much more aggressive than the original prototype, and more fitting for a car setting its sights on the fastest production vehicles in the world. Just as the skin has been upgraded to compete on a world-class level, so has the engine, which was originally supposed to be a 700-horsepower, 6.0-liter V10. Knowing full well in these modern times of 600-hp Vipers and supercharged Blue Devils that a 700-hp V10 a world-class supercar does not make, Melling went back to the drawing board and did what he does best. The production Melling Hellcat will now come with a quad-turbo V10 producing a completely ridiculous 1,175 horsepower. That's well above the number of ponies the Bugatti Veyron produces, and it will be stuffed in a package that's considerably lighter. 0 to 60 is expected to occur in a 2.6-second blink of the eye, and terminal velocity will be 275 mph. Those are big numbers; we'll be eagerly anticipating some material evidence of those feats. Until then, enjoy the high-resolution gallery of pics taken by Mark from Maserati of Minneapolis and purveyor of its blog that broke the story.

[Source: Maserati of Minneapolis Blog]