Fittingly – perhaps – Mexican start-up automaker Mastretta chose the London Motor Show to unveil its first-ever car, the MXT, in 2008.
The two-seat, two-door, looked at first glance to be some type of Lotus – which may or may not have fueled intense criticism from British TV hosts on Top Gear. But despite the harsh welcome to the automotive world, Mastretta has spent the last three years working towards its goals to enter production – a feat it has nearly reached.
According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, after many delays the Mexican automaker is now promising to begin rolling the first production examples of the MXT off of its assembly line this month. The car may have a quirky design and an oddly tall windshield above its very Lotus Elise-esque hood, its otherwise simple design lends itself well to an overall lightweight and performance-minded design.
While the MXT might utilize the same engine and transmission previously used in the Ford Focus – with the addition of a turbocharger, of course – it churns out a very respectable 250 horsepower good for a zero-to-60 sprint of just 4.6 seconds thanks to the sub-2,000 weight.
“On the track, it’s a giant killer,†said Jean-Paul Capin, the chief financial officer of Mastretta Cars. “You can race against really high-end sports cars, Porsches and Corvettes, because of the power-to-weight ratio and the way the cars are set up. On the track, they are highly competitive against those cars at a fraction of the price.â€
Mastretta hopes to build just 30 units in 2011, then between 120 and 150 in 2012 and 250 in 2013, if all continues to go according to plan.
Want an MXT for yourself? Cough up about $58,000 and its yours.
References
1.’Made by Mexico…’ view
