Mexican rave from Mastretta
The first car ever to be designed and produced in Mexico will go on sale in the UK before anywhere else in the world
The Mastretta MXT, named after the Mastretta brothers whose project it is, with the initials denoting Mexico and a transverse engine, is a compact mid-engined coupé about the same size as a Lotus Exige. 'We're getting it certified by the UK's Vehicle Certification Agency because it's the easiest way to get official approval,' said designer Daniel Mastretta at the car's world début at the London Motor Show. 'That will make it easier to get the car approved for sale in other markets.' Under the angular but handsome skin is a chassis of extruded aluminium bonded to a carbonfibre/aluminium sandwich floor. The rear chassis is of tubular chrome-molybdenum steel and there's a steel crash-box at the front. Bodywork is of glassfibre with an impressively smooth finish. It's hand-laid on the prototype but production cars will have the bonnet, roof and engine cover pressed from sheet moulding compound, like a Lotus. The prototype uses a Volkswagen 2.0-litre turbo engine, readily available in Mexico, but production cars will use a turbocharged 2.0-litre Ford engine producing a little under 240bhp. Weight is around 900kg, which Mastretta reckons should allow 150mph and a sub-5.0sec 0-60mph time. As sampled on the show stand the MXT has too high a driver's seat and very tight headroom, but that and the facia design will change for production.
Daniel Mastretta is hoping to sell between 50 and 80 cars a year in the UK from the end of the year, at £32,999 each.
