HULME (2002-2016)

This is the only car on this list that got plenty of publicity around the world. It even made it onto an episode of the Australian version of Top Gear. First conceived in 2002 by Auckland-based entrepreneur Jock Freemantle, the car had a very long gestation period. Most of the who’s who in the New Zealand homegrown motoring industry had input into this car. Bruce Woods, of Massey University, designed the body, and Bruce Turnbull did a lot of work with the chassis. Automotive writer Allan Dick suggested that it should be called the ‘Hulme’, and Greta Hulme, wife of Denny Hulme, gave Jock the rights to use Denny’s name on the car. Initially, the car was to have a carbon-fibre chassis and be powered by a BMW V8. The first full-scale mock-up of the Hulme appeared in 2004 in coupe guise, looking more like a Hot Wheels concept than a road-going supercar. The mock-up lacked an interior, window glass, and an engine. It was displayed all around the world but struggled to find a major investor. However, hundreds of everyday people did invest time and money in the project. Jock even sold his house to find extra funds in the early stages. In 2009, the first drivable prototype was released to the public. This was the car that was driven on Top Gear. Jock decided to market a cheaper roadster version of the car in the hope that sales of these would help fund the coupe. However, once again, despite the car being driven and praised by great names such as Chris Amon and Paul Radisich, Jock struggled to find major investors. The roadster, known as the ‘Hulme CanAm’, strongly resembled the original coupe, but, to reduce costs, changes had been made. The BMW engine had been replaced by a simpler yet highly tuned GM LS V8 power plant. This was a nice nod to the past and the wins that Denny Hulme had notched up driving a Chev-powered McLaren back in the ’60s. With this engine, the car had a 0 to 100km time of a little under three seconds, easily permitting the CanAm entry to the supercar class. The prototype featured a steel space-frame chassis. Although a lot of work had been done on the carbon-fibre chassis, it is not known if any were produced. In 2013, Jock was diagnosed with cancer. Despite this, he was still enthusiastic about the Hulme. As late as April 2016, he told Allan Dick that he and his team were now pushing ahead with stage two, the coupe version. Despite the many setbacks, Jock and his team never lost sight of the dream. Jock Freemantle quietly passed away during December 2016.