Pulp Fiction: Zolfe Orange comes back from the drawing board

Noah Joseph — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:27:00 EST

Click above to view the Zolfe Orange in high resolution

Britain has a rich heritage in niche sportscars, but unfortunately for American customers, few of them end up making it over to the Colonies. The oddly-named Zolfe Orange, however, stands as a unique exception. We first reported on the Zolfe Orange two years ago, when it was set to enter production under Suzuki Hyabusa power. But a lack of space and other concerns sent the lightweight GT back to the drawing board, finally to re-emerge, and all the better for it.

The revised Zolfe Orange now incorporates Ford-sourced engines, starting with a 2.3-liter Duratec driving an entirely respectable 185 horsepower to the rear wheels via the Mazda MX-5's five-speed manual. More powerful engines, a six-speed manual or an available automatic, and a limited-slip differential will be offered, promising to deliver strong performance from the composite body draped over a spaceframe chassis that weighs 1543 pounds. The project is lead by Nic Strong of British Midlands plastics manufacturer Spatz Arlon and former Caterham engineering chief Jez Coates, benefiting from additional input from other cottage automakers through the Niche Vehicle Network. AP supplies the brakes, Avon the tires and the interior ergonomics were benchmarked against the Audi TT. Best of all, the first year's run of 30 vehicles are almost all earmarked for the American market, so if you've got £27,500 (approximately $42k in greenbacks) on hand and are looking for something a little different, the juicy little Orange may be your kinda squeeze
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Gallery: Zolfe Orange

[Source: Zolfe]

Pulp Fiction: Zolfe Orange comes back from the drawing board originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vitamin-C shot: Zolfe Orange supercar on sale next week

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:53:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Europe, Supercars

We remember reading about the Zolfe Orange last year and we were absolutely smitten with the possibility of it coming into production. Now, we've gotten word that the British startup will begin selling the 'Busa-powered super-coupe next week.

Aside from being TVR-esque and undoubtedly orange, the Zolfe packs a power-to-weight ratio of 113 HP per ton and that's in stock form. The aforementioned 1.3-liter motor, pulled straight from a Suzuki Hayabusa, provides motivation and when mated to a six-speed tranny the Orange can reach 60 in 4.5 seconds. Originally, there was word of a turbo'd mill that would increase horsepower from 175 to 350, dropping the sprint to 60 by a full second, but the bespoke carmaker has decided to give buyers the choice of either 2- or 3-liter Ford-sourced V6s, producing 145 HP and 203 HP respectively.

Pricing will be set at £25,000 and according to Zolfe's owner, Nic Strong, an American buyer has already placed an order for 200 of the orange supercars. We can't wait to see one in person.

[Sources: Pistonheads, Zolfe]

Vitamin-C shot: Zolfe Orange supercar on sale next week originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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