2,000 mile range and 190mph top speed for British-built Trident Iceni diesel.
Diesel cars are rarely as exciting as their petrol counterparts, but then not all diesels look as tantalising as the Iceni sportscar from British sportscar company Trident – and nothing else comes close when it comes to performance.
The Trident Iceni is available in sportscar, ‘Magna’ fastback and ‘Venturer’ estate flavours. Each one is capable of holding at least two suitcases. That and a claimed 2,000 mile fuel tank range when running on mineral or bio-diesel (chip fat, basically) should help make it the perfect long-haul cruiser.
A 6.6-litre V8 turbo diesel generates 395bhp and 700lb/ft of torque in its standard form. Opt for the £11,000 Performance Pack, which adds a carbon fibre diffuser and a long-range differential among other things, and power jumps to 430bhp and 950lb/ft of torque.
Still not enough? The £30,875 Track Pack takes power up to a frankly insane 660bhp and – check this – 1,050lb/ft of torque. Most cars would be crying tears of joy at half of that torque figure. 0 to 62mph takes around 3.7-seconds and the top speed is approaching 200mph.
That extremely generous dollop of torque and a technology Trident calls ‘torque multiplication’ helps the Trident Iceni achieve ‘outstanding’ fuel economy, although the exact economy figures have yet to be released. All power goes through a six-speed automatic gearbox.
The mental diesel engine is not the only star of the show. Just look at the styling. There’s a hint of the Jaguar E-Type about the body atop a ‘special grade’ stainless steel chassis, which is never a bad thing. A head-turner, this most certainly is.
“We have worked extremely hard to reach this point and the whole Trident team is thrilled to be bringing the world’s most fuel-efficient diesel sports cars to market,” Trident co-founder Daniel Monaghan said. Trident was setup in 2005.
The Trident Iceni costs £96,000 in its standard specification. The £2,700 Premium Pack adds a heated front windscreen, carbon fibre on the interior and electric seats. Carbon ceramic brakes will set you back another £15,500. That sounds expensive, admittedly, but you can whack on a few extras and it will still cost less than, say, a Porsche 911 GT3.
Availability is said to be ‘limited’ so you will need to strike quick to get on the pre-launch list.
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