TECHNICAL COLUMN PROVIDED BY WITHAM MOTORSPORT – DISTRIBUTORS OF MOTUL AUTOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS
The new Great British Sportscar that is shining a light on an exclusive partnership between Motul and the performance road-car market
Motul is delighted to announce a new partnership with bespoke UK manufacturer the Great British Sports Cars that has produced the exciting new MotulEdition GBS Zero sportscar, which will be officially revealed at the end of July at the Silverstone Classic meeting.
The new design will include a host of Motulinspired features. From the machining of metal billets through all the necessary turning, drilling and assembly processes to the first fill of all lubricants as the final part of the car’s journey to finished automobile, Motul products are being used throughout.
It is believed to be the first car in the world to be made and run on lubricants from the same manufacture. From cutting oils to hydraulic fluids used in the manufacturing process to make all the parts to the fluids used throughout the car, including engine oil, gearbox oil, brake fluid, engine coolant, greases and even Witham screenwash, this will be made to a performance standard with bespoke specifications.
There will be a long list of specialist parts, and Motul branding will be sculpted onto – or etched into – the brake calipers, headlight covers, interior upholstery and even the chassis itself.
The ultra-lightweight Zero sportscar will be powered by a 2.5-litre Ford Duratec engine, specially prepared by Neil Brown Engineering. Neil Brown Engineering is the company that provides the motive power for the British Formula 4 championship – a series where Motul is proud to be the lubricant partner, providing the spec engine oil for all competitors.
With a 240bhp power unit, a dry sump oil system, ATR throttle bodies and a kerb weight of only 500kg, the Motul-Edition
GBS Zero will have a power-to-weight ratio of almost 500bhp per ton, which will make it extremely rapid.
Motul UK distributors, Witham Motorsport, were the driving force behind the project. Managing director Nigel Bottom explains:
“We have been supplying Motul product to Great British Sports Cars for some time and, having had the chance to meet [boss] Richard [Hall] and tour the factory, I was hugely impressed by the depth of their engineering kill their innovative ideas and by the fact that there was potentially a great story to be told on the start-to-finish – and beyond – part that Motul plays in the construction of the GBS Zero. The idea of a Motul-Edition seemed like a logical extension of this so we have embarked on what is a truly novel venture for a lubricant brand.”
The Silverstone’s Classic has been chosen as the venue for the car to make its public debut for a number of reasons. Motul’s UK business development manager Andy Wait explains: “We were delighted only a few weeks ago to announce our partnership with Silverstone for The Classic. It is a huge festival of enthusiast motoring, with more than 100,000 people expected, so we wanted to make our first appearance there memorable and to have the climax of the Motul GBS Zero initiative at Silverstone seems apt.
“Also, of course, the car has a retro look and feel to it, so it fits in well with the spirit of the event, and it will give us the chance to gauge public reaction to the car as well, overall of offering us a great chance to showcase so much of what
Motul can offer.”