Nichols N1A: A lightweight analogue supercar from an experienced Formula 1 car designer

British company Nichols Cars has unveiled the N1A, an open mid-engined supercar based on the McLaren M1A sports prototype from the 60s of the last century. The Nichols N1A is powered by a 7.0-liter 659-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 and weighs only 900 kg.

Nichols Cars was founded in 2017 by automotive designer Steve Nichols, under whose leadership the McLaren team in the second half of the 80s of the last century developed one of the most successful cars in the history of Formula 1 — MP4/4, it was piloted by the legendary Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost . Nichols also worked for the Ferrari, Jaguar, Jordan and Sauber teams, and his first road car is dedicated to the McLaren M1A sports prototype, which belonged to the then Group 7 and competed in the North American Can-Am championship. According to Nichols, the racing cars of the 60s are among the best and yet they retained a technical and aesthetic connection with road cars.

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Designed by Nichols Cars, the mid-engined supercar captures the aesthetics of the racing McLaren M1A quite accurately, but at the same time has a more elegant and modern body design: it is based on a spatial aluminum frame, and all exterior panels are made of carbon fiber. The overall length of the Nichols N1A is 4.3 m, the width is 1.76 m, the height is 0.99 m, the wheelbase is 2.45 m. The suspension is on double wishbones “in a circle”. All wheels are equipped with powerful disc brakes and are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires 245mm front and 305mm rear.

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The minimalistically designed cockpit has an elegant instrument panel with five “wells”. The roof is not provided in principle. The main finishing materials are genuine leather and aluminum.

1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8 .0 L block V8 LS3 from General Motors. The engine is atmospheric, with a dry sump lubrication system, maximum power is 659 hp. Gearbox — 6-speed «mechanics» Dana Graziano with a graceful gear lever at the door «like Ayrton Senna». Driving wheels — rear. Of the driver assistance systems, there is only power steering, Traction Control and a switchable ABS.

Dynamics of the Nichols N1A have not yet been made public, but given that the supercar weighs only 900 kg, one must think that they are remarkable.

Nichols Cars is going to release only 100 copies of the N1A, the price was not indicated in the press release, but for the target audience of the supercar it does not matter much.