Avatar Roadster: Marlin sub-brand launches with track-ready sports car

Kit-car makers' latest venture comes ready assembled, with no need to spend months putting it together

As well as driving it on the track, Marlin hope you'll drive it there and back too

Kit-car makers Marlin have launched a sub-brand, Avatar. And under that brand comes the Roadster. One key point is that it comes ready-assembled, so you can just drive it rather than spend months in your shed putting it together. The idea is that you’ll want to drive it on the track, but you’ll also be able to drive it to the track and back as well.

At heart it is a tubular spaceframe chassis with the engine mounted longitudinally. The seating position is as near the centre as possible, and the fuel tank is carefully positioned so that weight distribution is, according to Avatar, near perfect.

Helping with that weight distribution, and indeed making it go, is a Ford Ecoboost engine mated to the transmission from a Porsche Boxster. The engine can be either the 2.0-litre or 2.3-litre option, with the larger engine producing 350bhp.

Prices are £29,450 for the 2.0-litre version and £34,450 for the 2.3

That’s pretty useful power, and it’s aided further by a light kerb weight of 700kg. This is possible thanks to the lightweight construction, clothed in fibreglass body panels.

At present, production is just one a month but Avatar are hoping to up this to around two or three a month. Prices are £29,450 for the 2.0-litre version and £34,450 for the 2.3-litre car. If this sells well, there are plans for a longer version housing a Chevrolet V8 engine.