Dubai: All that the automotive world has been talking about has to do with going electric – and how fast should that happen. Any other talk, it would seem, has been drowned out, even if car buyers wanted to listen to something that’s got nothing to do with electric cars.
One carmaker – and a new one into the commercial production space – will not be distracted by the noise. The company, UK-based Prodrive, bills the Hunter as the world’s first ‘all-terrain hypercar’, and is being unveiled to potential buyers in Dubai. Buyers who are willing to pay $1.4 million for the pleasure of owning one of the 600-hp, 0-100kph in less than 4-second high-performance Hunters.
Those kinds of numbers deliver their own decibels, for sure. In an interview, Oliver Wood, Performance Manager at Prodrive, makes a point that with the Hunter a brand new carmaker can take its spot in the auto industry. The commercial production model is developed from the competition car driven for Bahrain Raid Xtreme by Sebastien Loeb at the Dakar rally, and other rounds of the World Rally Raid Championship (WRRC).
Limited production for the Hunter would be an obvious route to follow. Are you going to build only on firm orders? Does it make sense to build and then hope demand follows?
Production of the Hunter has already begun and will be ongoing. Our production process ensures customers retain the ability to tailor the vehicle to their individual preferences.
All Prodrive Hunters will be hand-built at our facility in Banbury, UK, where we have produced more than 1,000 race and rally cars, including 6 Le Mans race winners, 6 world rally title-winning cars, and the 3 Dakar rally cars from which the Hunter is derived.
You now have the proof of concept – have the initial production units already been spoken for? Base price?
We have already taken the first orders for the Prodrive Hunter which is priced at $1.4 million.
An all-terrain capability – isn’t that kind of extreme for what is a hypercar?
When it comes to the ‘hypercar’ category, the Prodrive Hunter tears up the rule book. It’s the very first of its kind, allowing drivers to experience unrivalled ability and performance across any landscape.
Are you ready to bring in other investors?
There are no plans to do this.
It’s been difficult for even performance-focused auto brands to break into the global market. How do you plan to change that narrative?
The Prodrive Hunter creates its own niche in the automotive space, aimed at markets where demand for a ‘go-anywhere’ all-terrain vehicle is high, such as the Middle East and South America. However, it has been refined to feel right at home on the road as well.
Prodrive is synonymous with performance at the very highest level of motorsport and has earned its reputation as a partner to many of the world’s leading OEMs.
Prodrive is synonymous with performance at the very highest level of motorsport and has earned its reputation as a partner to many of the world’s leading OEMs. The Prodrive Hunter is a fine example of the brand’s design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
The hypercar to be driven in Dubai is ‘even more powerful’ than that driven by nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, with a 50 per cent increase in power from the 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo engine, and more suspension to absorb the harshest of terrain.
