170mph, 6.6 V8, 70mpg - and it's British

[Pebb]

Source: AutoCar

Heard the one about the 6.6 V8 that’ll do 70mpg? One Norfolk car maker doesn’t reckon it’s a joke.

In case the massive V8 was not a big enough giveaway, we should point out that this is not a Lotus. This car comes from Norfolk’s other car maker, Trident Performance Vehicles, based at Beeston.

Trident is launching its new two-seater Iceni sports car, and it’s doing so by attempting to drive from Norwich to Monaco – around 1000 miles - on a single tank of fuel.

It’s not quite as mad as it seems: the Trident has 100-litre fuel tank, and its 6.6-litre V8 is a diesel. At 56mph, they reckon the Iceni can manage 70mpg. What’s more, the Iceni will be running biodiesel.

The car will be driven by Trident’s sales director, Kelly Bevan, and journalist Suzannah Sorrell. It leaves Norwich on 17 April, and aims to get to Monaco for the Top Marques motor show on the 19th.

Even if they use some of the car’s performance – it is claimed to do 0-60mph in 3.9sec and 170mph flat out – we reckon there will be plenty of fuel: at 70mpg, 100 litres should be good for over 1500 miles.

 

[Wolfe]

Is that a really huge fuel tank, or have I just not been paying attention to the size of any fuel tank other than the one in my own car?

At any rate, from what I've found, the engine seems to be GM's LLY Duramax, used in pickup trucks (obviously). If the performance can match the claims and the car can reach production, Trident may open up the idea of diesel sports cars.

Here's their website if anyone's interested.

 

[Tornado]

With the fuel economy super bonus, the company may last 2 years.

 

[skip0110]

The 6600 Duramax is not a performance engine, unless your idea of performance is towing something heavy up a hill.

This thing sucks.

 

[Pebb]

The 6600 Duramax is not a performance engine, unless your idea of performance is towing something heavy up a hill.

This thing sucks.

If your talking about the Iceni will be bad, then you should never underestimate a car until the reviews come out.

 

[skip0110]

We are talking about a supposed "sports car" with a cast iron engine that weighs over 800 pounds dry (not including the transmission) and a redline under 3500 rpm. It has enough torque to pull off impressive acceleration numbers but is going to be no fun at all to drive.

I bet just the engine and transmission of this thing weigh more than a complete Ariel Atom.

 

[YSSMAN]

Hey, I remember Iceni from PGR2... I always wondered what happened to them...

I like the idea, and it will be interesting to see what comes of it. If they do it right, lets pray that Audi green lights the R8 V12 TDI...

 

[Kylehnat]

Is that a really huge fuel tank, or have I just not been paying attention to the size of any fuel tank other than the one in my own car?

It's about twice as large as the fuel tank in my car, and certainly well above average (26.4 gallons). Full of fuel, that's 200 lbs.

With the fuel economy super bonus, the company may last 2 years.

I wouldn't call it's "fuel economy" anything special. Every car has a sweet-spot, most good for 40-50 mpg (somewhere between 50 and 60 mph in top gear). Make it a low-revving diesel, and that stretches a bit. Besides, technically a Prius could get an infinite mpg rating if it drove slow enough, but that's not practical. For that matter, neither is cruising over long distances at 56 mph.

 

[JCE]

That looks interesting. I'd like to see more diesel sports cars, and no that is not a joke. Isn't there a Skoda hot hatch that is quite impressive in the acceleration department? It'd be interesting to see the new 6.4L V8 twin turbo diesel from the new F-series Super Duty in a lightweight coupe. It might be fast.

 

[Famine]

Isn't there a Skoda hot hatch that is quite impressive in the acceleration department?

The Skoda Fabia vRS. I wouldn't say "impressive", but it certainly pulls in-gear at overtaking speeds.

 

[Pupik]

Is that a really huge fuel tank, or have I just not been paying attention to the size of any fuel tank other than the one in my own car?

100 liters is approximately 26 gallons. That's quite big for a car, let alone a sports car, although that's about what you can expect from a big SUV or heavy-duty pickup.

This has me wondering what cars have the biggest fuel tanks, and the longest mileage ranges. Most small and compact cars tend to have a tank of about 10 gallons. My Talon TSi used to annoy me with its tiny tank and 170-190 mile range.

Every Lexus seems to have a tank of about 16-17 gallons, for some reason. I know, I've filled them all at some point or another.

 

[Speedster502]

............. and it's ugly!

 

[Kylehnat]

100 liters is approximately 26 gallons. That's quite big for a car, let alone a sports car, although that's about what you can expect from a big SUV or heavy-duty pickup.

And many racing series have limits of 90 liters or so. Most street cars land between 15 and 20 gallons (50-75 liters).

My Talon TSi used to annoy me with its tiny tank and 170-190 mile range

I hear ya. One of the only things that bothers me about my car is the smallish tank. 14.5 gallons gives an okay range, but I'm sure they could have squeezed another gallon or two into the car's packaging. An extra 50 or 60 miles would be excellent.

 

[daan]

100 liters is approximately 26 gallons.

Most street cars land between 15 and 20 gallons (50-75 liters).

I was a bit confused there until I remembered that your gallons are smaller than ours.

My car has a 15.4 gallon, 70 litre, 18.5 US gallon tank.

 

[YSSMAN]

I was a bit confused there until I remembered that your gallons are smaller than ours.

My car has a 15.4 gallon, 70 litre, 18.5 US gallon tank.

Wow, thats a pretty large tank for a car. I figured my Jetta's 12.3 gallon (about 14.8 UK) tank was about 'average,' but then again, I believe my Mom's Camry has a pretty big tank... That would be about 18.5 gallons (about 22.2 UK).

Of course, my Dad's full-size truck carries around a 31 gallon (37.2 UK) tank. He loves paying almost $100 to fill it up...

 

[Dave A]

My 306 costs £50 to fill up (near enough $100).

 

[JCE]

My 306 costs £50 to fill up (near enough $100).

Jesus H Christ! When I filled up my Camaro recently with premium (93)--which isn't the same premium as you get over there in the UK--it costed me $39 USD. Granted that's not much compared to you guys but I don't make much money these days and $39 is alot of money to spend on petrol. I'm going to have to start putting in the cheap stuff (87 octane).

This brings me to a question that is hugely off topic...

How do you guys in the UK live with such a high cost of living? How much does the average household make? Cars are expensive, petrol is expensive, housing is expensive, utilities are expensive, and now your goverment is about (or already has?) instituted a law to make you PAY to drive. How can you have fun with the accelerator in your car if it costs you THAT much to fill up? I always knew petrol was expensive over there--but it just hit me like a ton of bricks reading your post.

Its funny, when someone over here complains about "gas prices" I always tell them to try and imagine paying 300-400% more for it like you guys do in the UK. That usually shuts them up.

 

[Philly]

Just a hint: Many Europeans live in small houses to apartments/condos, drive compact cars instead of big SUVs and I'm sure they have a few other tricks. The US is a very different beast, and maybe we should learn from our brothers in Europe.

As for the matter at hand, this is an unusual idea. I have always wondered how a truck engine would do in a sports car, or how a sports car engine would do in a truck. Obviously, they are designed for different things so performance probably won't be optimal. At least you can take a boat with you to the race track...

 

[Dave A]

Small houses, depends where like any places. I can't imagine that everyone in America lives in a 4 bedroomed semi or detached house. I would say though, that the average house is likely to be bigger in the US, but the average house price is much, much higer in the UK. If you think the 306 is bad, the Bora costs more, not to fill up (it's about the same), but it runs out quicker. ontop of that I pay over £300 a year to tax both cars (thats over $600). I pay over £1100 to insure both cars (over $2200) and I have to MoT them both at £52 each ($104 each). And then you have to fit in prices for a service, repairs, new tyres ect. Ontop of that, when I get my pay from work, over 30% of it is gone straight away to income tax. So if I earn £35k in 1 year, over the year the governmet takes over £10,000 just for the privillege of earning money here. It's called rip off Britain for a reason.

 

[Barracuda]

then....... umm move, jk.

I absolutely hate suv's though. Its always some stupid soccer mom who thinks she needs a Lincoln navigator because she has 2 kids. I think for suv's they should have a law where you have to have over 4 kids to be able to own one, but then again, why not just go back to station wagons, they worked perfectly fine for the average 70's-80's big American family and weren't such gas hogs.

suv's are just absolutely useless and in no way practical. If you need something to tow or go off road, get a truck. If you need something for the space, get a wagon. If you have a small family, get a damn sedan. Its not that hard America.

 

[skip0110]

C'mon now, SUVs aren't great but 4 ton wagons with 4 bbl 440s, 460s, and 454s did not exactly "tread lightly".

 

[JCE]

Small houses, depends where like any places. I can't imagine that everyone in America lives in a 4 bedroomed semi or detached house. I would say though, that the average house is likely to be bigger in the US, but the average house price is much, much higer in the UK. If you think the 306 is bad, the Bora costs more, not to fill up (it's about the same), but it runs out quicker. ontop of that I pay over £300 a year to tax both cars (thats over $600). I pay over £1100 to insure both cars (over $2200) and I have to MoT them both at £52 each ($104 each). And then you have to fit in prices for a service, repairs, new tyres ect. Ontop of that, when I get my pay from work, over 30% of it is gone straight away to income tax. So if I earn £35k in 1 year, over the year the governmet takes over £10,000 just for the privillege of earning money here. It's called rip off Britain for a reason.

Where I live: 3200sq.ft 4 bedroom 2.5 bath. House cost $160k new in 1997.

But yea, I think it is a ripoff that you guys and gals pay so much money. Thing is, your goverment seems to want to make you guys pay MORE. How much is your average family salary over there?