Motul has announced a partnership project with bespoke UK car constructor, Great British Sports Cars (GBS): the Motul-Edition GBS Zero.
The lightweight hand-crafted sportscar is now being built with the Nottinghamshire company, ahead of a public reveal during The Classic at Silverstone from the 30th of July to 1st August.
The Motul-Edition GBS Zero will feature a host of Motul-inspired design features with the whole build featuring Motul involvement.
GBS manufactures the vast majority of its components from scratch, using Motul throughout the various processes.
Motul hopes to make the whole build process interactive, with regular reports of the car’s build progress before it makes its public debut as part of Motul’s activities as Official Lubricant Partner of The Classic at Silverstone.
The company has launched a competition where enthusiasts can design the livery for this prototype car and subsequent production examples. Through to the end of May, anyone in the UK can download the car’s blueprint drawings as part of an official entry form on a dedicated competition webpage. They can then design and submit for the chance to be part of the official unveiling as Motul’s guests at the Silverstone Classic, seeing their livery design becoming reality.
The competition is being split into two categories. There is an under 16 and an over 16 competition, to encourage designers of all ages to get creative and be part of this somewhat special opportunity. Family passes to be Motul’s guests at Silverstone’s Classic and some great Motul gear will be awarded to the winners, as well as seeing their design come to life. A panel of judges, which will include some well-known names from the world of motoring, will decide on the winning entries.
The ultra-lightweight Zero sportscar will be powered by a 2.5 litre Ford Duratec engine, specially prepared by Neil Brown Engineering, the company that provides the motive power for the UK FIA Formula 4 championship. With a 240BHP 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/Tonne.
Motul’s UK Business Development Manager, Andy Wait, commented: “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, therefore, 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 offering us a great chance to showcase so much of what Motul can offer.”
Motul UK Distributors, Witham Motorsport, were the driving force behind the project, as MD Nigel Bottom, explained: ”We have been supplying Motul product to Great British Sportscars for some time and, having had the chance to meet Richard (Hall) and tour the factory, I was hugely impressed by the depth of their engineering skill, by 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.”
