2011 Fenix Supercar review and pictures

Fenix Supercar review:

TEASER PICS PROVIDE FIRST GLIMPSE OF NEW LEE NOBLE SUPERCAR

These are the first official shots of Fenix Automotive`s astonishing new supercar, which is due on UK sale in the second half of this year.

While Lee Noble has given a strong hint that the car will be a `natural, but even more focused` successor to his iconic M12, his new design is fresh, bold and dramatic, with a premium feel normally associated with exotica costing over £150,000.

"The M12 was hugely successful, but we needed to move the game on in terms of design," said Lee. "The new car`s styling owes nothing to what I`ve done before and has quite literally been a `clean sheet` exercise from the start. It`s edgy, with powerful lines, and aerodynamically will be in another league to any of my previous cars."

Fenix also announced that it will be offering a choice of two engines for the new car. GM`s 480bhp LS3 V8 will be the `base` unit, while the 6.2-litre supercharged LS9 V8, as seen in the recently launched Corvette ZR1, will provide customers with a 638bhp power option.

Factor in a target kerb weight of 1200kgs, and performance in either car will be prodigious, but Fenix estimates that the LS9-engined car should accelerate from 0-100mph in under seven seconds on its way to a top speed of around 200mph.

"Our first prototype is now in build and development will start in around one month`s time," said Lee. "We`ll be hot-weather testing the first prototype on the mountain roads around Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the car will be manufactured. But I`m itching to get the car back to the UK where I can set it up on roads I know well."