Automotive

Could the Lucra L148 be America's next great supercar?

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The new Lucra L148 cruising the highway for prey (Photo: Lucra Cars)
Side view of the Lucra L148 (Photo: Lucra Cars)
The L148 is currently planned to reach the road in mid-2014
The new Lucra L148 cruising the highway for prey (Photo: Lucra Cars)
The L148 will come equipped with air conditioning, satellite radio, GPS navigation – and even a windscreen and a roof
An aerodynamically tuned carbon-fiber body made in one piece rests atop a tubular chromoly steel chassis (Photo: Lucra Cars)
Transparent view of the Lucra L148's innards (Photo: Lucra Cars)
The Lucra LC480 street-legal race car (Photo: Lucra Cars)
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Lucra Cars is a boutique car developer and manufacturer with a passion to create the next American supercars. Having made quite a splash last year with the rollout of the Lucra LC470, whose motto is "STREET LEGAL – but just barely," the company has just revealed pics and a bit of information about its Bugatti killer, the L148.

The world of hyperpower sport cars has gone wild in the past few years, with several street-legal production cars joining the 2.5/10 club – a 0-60 mph (100 km/h) time of 2.5 seconds and a 10 second quarter mile (0.4 km) time. Entry into this elite club is not simply a question of power. Rather it represents achieving a superb balance between power, transmission, suspension, and the ability to couple immense torque to the tarmac.

The Lucra LC480 street-legal race car (Photo: Lucra Cars)

One of the charter members of the 2.5/10 club is the Lucra LC470 (shown above), clocked by Top Speed magazine at 2.5/9.1, with a 60-0 braking distance of 93 ft (28 m) and a skidpad acceleration of 1.3 Gs. Where the LC470 misses the supercar boat is in its austerity; it does not even have an option for air conditioning. Its real identity is as a street legal race car.

Side view of the Lucra L148 (Photo: Lucra Cars)

This problem is overcome in the L148, albeit for a much larger price tag (over US$250K rather than about $100K for the LC470). Included is an aerodynamically tuned carbon-fiber body made in one piece (with cutouts for the hood, trunk, and doors, of course.) This approach to body design increases the strength and rigidity of the body shell, while turning a minor fracture into an expensive body replacement.

An aerodynamically tuned carbon-fiber body made in one piece rests atop a tubular chromoly steel chassis (Photo: Lucra Cars)

The body rests atop a tubular chromoly steel chassis, on which are mounted a number of performance parts, including a front/mid-mounted 4.7 liter GM LS7 V8 engine, which may be coupled to the rear axle through a Mercedes seven-speed paddleshift transmission.

Though some reports claim 700 hp (532 kW) output for the L148’s engine, the LS7 engine puts out just over 500 hp (380 kW). The dicey reputation of the LS7 engine under turbocharging makes one suspect that the Lucra L148 engine could actually be one of GM’s LSX engines that have been specially designed for use at large boost.

Transparent view of the Lucra L148's innards (Photo: Lucra Cars)

To add some of the sophistication expected in vehicles of this haughty clique, the L148 will come equipped with air conditioning, satellite radio, GPS navigation – and even a windscreen and a roof. The L148 is currently planned to reach the road in mid-2014.

Source: Lucra Cars

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7 comments
Rehab
GM engine, glad I didn't go ahead with my order! Nothing special about a car that the owner has to explain how great it is ......... should speak fot it self. Why not take a real super car and push it to the next level. The talent to style and boost the power and performance are there. Good luck with your dream.
Rule1
I think this car sounds great. I don't get why people always rag on the LS engines. They're quite reliable and efficient these days, and they put down a lot of power when you want them to. The styling of this car is a fantastic blend of classic roadster with modern front engine exotics. I can't wait to see one in person.
Rt1583
I don't think it's so much ragging on the LS engines.
I think it has more to do with claiming a particular vehicle to be the next American supercar, going through all the trouble to design and enigineer something not offered by any other U.S. manufacturer and then stuffing a rather generic crate motor (among other parts) into it.
A big part of what makes a car a supercar is the amount of engineering that goes into almost every aspect of it. From the looks of it, this company couldn't even be bothered to really put any effort into engineering as they have copied aspects from various Corvettes (which are, of course, the most widely available, viable and reliable package for the LS motor) and Ferraris through history as well as borrowing from the parts bins of various other manufacturers to complete the car.
It shouldn't be called a supercar when it isn't and it shouldn't have a Ferrari cost of entry when it is really nothing more than a Corvette wrapped in a new skin.
kalqlate
Bugatti killer? I lol'd when I read that. Nice car for the price though.
bullfrog84
Sweet. But another supercar? really? I know some people have to much money, but how about actually making a car that is original or at least as an application other than it goes really fast, not that you'll ever know. Another point; we know If Apple were a car company it would have sued anyone that made anything that had four wheels, but the frame is so similar to a corvettes' you would have to. Looks like someone wanted an Austin Martin but could afford the corvette so put the two together... or something along those lines, still not ugly, but whats the point... nice hobby I guess.
RFM
My observation of the exterior is that once again there is little finesse in the lines and detail. It's... ugly.
Issa Bendeck
nice baby LS engines on demand