Japan's Secret V6 Supercar

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this striking supercar was the work of one of the prestigious Italian styling houses. But it isn't - this is the Le Mans CL-1, and it has been created by a Japanese designer who wishes to remain anonymous. We can't work out why, as the high-performance machine is stunning!

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By Peter Lyon

16th September 2004

The roof and flanks have echoes of the Ferrari 360, while the tail-lamps hark back to Nissan's classic 300ZX Turbo. The car will be built by Le Mans Co of Tokyo, a small independent manufacturer which maintains track vehicles for Japan's Formula Nippon racing series. However, it also makes bespoke prototypes for big-name marques. The CL-1 name comes from the collaboration between Le Mans Co (the 'L') and US tuner Caldwell Developments (the 'C'), which supplies the 3.5-litre V6 engine.

The powerplant is taken from the America-only Oldsmobile Intrigue. Boosted by 65bhp to 280bhp, it is mounted on a race-style alloy spaceframe chassis, and the car is clad in lightweight carbon fibre bodywork. Inside, the prototype's cockpit is hand-finished in leather, but to create more space for the driver, the selector for the standard four-speed automatic transmission has been replaced by a knob which is no bigger than that used to tune a radio.

A more suitable gearbox, boasting as many as seven ratios, is currently being sourced by Le Mans Co, and will appear in production versions of the CL-1. The newcomer is expected to go on sale next month, and it will be available worldwide to selected customers. The price tag is anticipated to be approximately ΂£350,000.