When people think of the Czech Republic, they probably think of their rich alcohol history or maybe their halfway decent football team. People don't necessarily think of cars (yeah, yeah ... I know that's where Skoda's from. But ... come on. They're pretty much German now).
Anywho, the nation is trying to get into the hypercar game with one of its latest four-wheeled creations.
'Made' by a group called Performance Solutions, this is the Mosquito.
Don't assume it's a love-letter to those winged blood-sucking monsters that chomp on your feet at night, either. The unique name is said to be a reference to the Havilland DH.98 Mosquito British World War II fighter plane — a machine renowned for its lack of weight. Just 18 will be produced, with price likely to sit in the seven or eight-figure ballpark.
Predictably, this car Mosquito is also a lightweight. Thanks to a full carbon-fibre body and a lack of creature comforts, it is expected to weigh 974kg.
That's light, but almost twice the weight of the somewhat similar track-orientated Vandal One that we featured last month.
The key difference though is that while the Vandal makes do with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine from the Honda Civic Type R, the Mosquito gets a lovely naturally aspirated V8.
The unit is said to make 600hp — or 447kW — and 650Nm of torque. Performance Solutions claim a 0–100km/h of just 2.9 seconds, and a top speed of 320km/h.
Those speeds are complimented not only by a light weight number and wild downforce, but also by an active ride control system that “will allow the vehicle’s suspension and aerodynamic subsystems to work in synchronicity, actively minimizing drag and maximizing downforce," according to the car-maker.
But there's a catch here. Or rather, a series of catches.
For one, you might've noted the air-quotes around the 'made' in the third paragraph. This is because the Mosquito seems to only really exist as series of a render on the internet. No real-world images or development images have been released.
And that theme continues to those engine numbers, too. They're pie-in-the-sky figures, because Performance Solutions have yet to settle on an engine supplier (although, they're chasing something American according to reports).
But, it's important to not be too cynical too early. The Mosquito is in its very early days, and — for proper motoring purists — it's one of the only new naturally aspirated V8 sports cars. So, before writing it off, let's just wait and see what Performance Solutions can do.
