London, England - Supercars are all about statistics, from the obscene asking price through to the terrifying top speed and the untenable fuel consumption. They give the greenies and the pinko car-hating lobby loads of reasons to be even less cheerful than normal.
In theory, then, they should really hate the Trident Iceni R. It has a 6.6-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine capable of producing 338kW. It will do 370km/h and get to 100km/h in less than four seconds but, and this is the kicker, it runs on locally produced bio-diesel and at a constant 100km/h the Iceni will return a Smart car-beating four litres/100km.
So where has the Iceni come from? Well, if you know your regional history, you'll know that the Iceni were Queen Boudicca's (politically-correct spelling for good old Boadicea) gang who hung out in the Norfolk hood back in 60AD. Also, Trident Cars was a manufacturer of sports cars in Suffolk. So, unsurprisingly, the Trident Iceni R is being hand-built on an industrial estate just off the A47 in Norfolk by Trident Performance Vehicles.
There have been several false starts in its evolution, the most recent back in 2000 at the British auto show when deposits were taken but full production never became a reality. Changes in management, restructuring and refinancing have brought the manufacturers to the point where they not only have a racing version that competes against petrol-powered supercars but are also actually building cars for customers.
So what's the secret of the Iceni R's remarkable stats? "Torque multiplication," says Phil Bevan, the chief designer. "Diesels operate more efficiently within the right rev range and fewer revolutions mean less friction. So a 2.5-litre diesel engine hammering down the M4 at 4200rpm is not very efficient when, with modification, it could be doing it at 1000rpm.
"Diesel engines are torque rich but power poor."
Probably with the Bugatti Veyron's 750kW-plus in mind, Bevan insists he is not interested in kiloWatts. "It's a myth," he says. "The most important thing is optimising the efficiency of an engine. In Formula 1, the optimum rev point is 18000rpm, which means that all gear changes occur then.
"With the Iceni R it is 3500rpm, our computer model shows that at 100km/h the engine generates 402rpm and that works out at four litres/100km."
To start with, Trident modifies the General Motors diesel so that it will be able to take maximum revs all day long when required. At the back of the Iceni is an eight-speed automatic gearbox designed by Bevan.
"We're using the cogs in the gearbox in a different way," he says. "The gear-change severity is based on a cruise mode which means there are seamless changes. When we race there are manual paddle shifts but, on a day-to-day basis, that would be tiring so it's better to be fully automatic."
Three times Ferrari power
There are few details about his clever patented device, which is built in America because no one in the UK would back it. But why bother to go racing?
"The race car was the only way to show customers that we can build cars," he said. "First of all we have perfect 50-50 weight distribution with the front engine set well back."
The racing engine produces 340kW and 1084Nm - virtually three times that of the Ferraris they compete against - and is geared to reach 370km/h. Road cars will only do 270km/h but getting to 100km/h takes the same time - less than four seconds.
At Silverstone, though, Bevan noticed the difference. "On the main straight the Ferrari will be doing 8000rpm and it will scream past," he says. "When the Iceni goes past it is nearer to 3000 and, although it is doing 225km/h, it sounds like it is purring along 80km/h.
"We also built a diesel race car because it can be done with less cost and waste. A GT race lasts two hours, which uses 100 litres of petrol in the first 45 minutes, and when there is a driver change another 100 litres are added. With our car we race with 45 litres and never need to fill up."
No carbon emissions
So while a Ferrari 360 does abut 33 litres/100km during a race, the Iceni manages a rather more impressive six.
"We can have as much fun as someone with a Porsche GT3 at 18 percent of the fuel cost, so environmentalists can't complain, especially as there are no carbon emissions," adds Bevan.
It is easy to live with fuel consumption figures like that but supercars have a reputation for costing a fortune to run and being less than practical. Bevan explains that the General Motors diesel engine has its first service at 100 000 miles (160 000km) and the gearbox is sealed for life.
"The stainless-steel chassis has a 100-year guarantee, while the Kevlar carbon-fibre body means it's a car you can hand down to your grandchildren," he says.
Not only is there a decent-sized boot, there's also with room for more than a couple of soft overnight bags, but also you won't have to stop every 20 minutes, as you do when the Bugatti is topping 320km/h. "You can get from Norwich to Monte Carlo and back, as the Iceni will do 1000 miles (1600km) on a tankful," adds Bevan.
"What we wanted to do was bring back the true GT car."
Only options: colour and sound
At £60 000 (about R870 000 at date of writing), the asking price will be considerably less than six-figure Ferraris and Lamborghinis. And although in the past good-value British supercars such as TVR's were light on safety features such as anti-lock brakes and even power-steering, the Iceni comes with everything as standard, including traction control, satellite navigation and rear-view cameras.
Trident even makes its own 20" alloy rims. All the buyer does is choose the colour and sound system.
But every buyer has the car set up to handle just as they want it because the forged aluminium suspension geometry and settings can be changed to suit, as are the seat, pedal box and steering.
So who's going to buy this socially responsible supercar?
"This is a niche market," admits Bevan. "They will be farmers, haulage contractors or company owners who are already heavy diesel users. People who don't want the frenzy of a supercar and will use it as a business tool."
Indeed, one customer who just happens to be a farmer is actually going to make his own fuel.
Just be consistent
Here it is then, the supercar you don't have to apologise for buying or driving. It's fast, it's frugal and it doesn't cost much to run; it's the answer to every objection the anti-car lobby has ever raised.
All Trident has to do is build this Iceni to a consistently high standard, remain financially sound, not grow too fast and it will have to beat off customers with a cattle prod.
I sincerely hope it gets it right because, single-handedly, the company could make British GT cars sexy again.