VLF Automotive Force 1: Heavyweights unite to create 218mph supercar

Henry Fisker, Ben Keating and Bob Lutz's limited edition car produces 745bhp from a Dodge Viper-based engine

As well as there only being 50, they’ll each cost £186,500

Put an iconic designer, a racing driver and an industry heavyweight in a room together, and the VLF Automotive Force 1 is what comes out.

Those three people are Henrik Fisker, Ben Keating and Bob Lutz. They’re going to make the Force 1 in a run of fifty, and in every sense of the phrase it’ll go fast.

Fast in the way something with an 8.4-litre V10 goes. Which means 3.0 seconds and you’ve hit sixty: keep at it and you’ll top out at 218mph.

Racecar driver Ben Keating is credited with developing the car into what it is

That’s what 745bhp and 638lb ft do for you.

The engine is based on the V10 in the Dodge Viper, which is definitely a good start. It drives the rear wheels only through a six-speed manual box, albeit with a paddle-shift option on the menu.

Racecar driver Ben Keating is credited with developing the car into what it is. That may have been quite a task, as the suspension is controlled by an on-board computer.

The Viper-based engine drives the rear wheels only through a six-speed manual box

Fisker, meanwhile, penned the design of the two-seat coupe body, which is executed in carbon fibre. This didn’t please his old employer, one Aston Martin, which tried unsuccessfully to get the Force 1’s Detroit launch canned because they thought he’d copied the DB10.

You can look at the pictures and decide for yourself. But one thing you almost certainly can’t decide to do is buy one – because as well as there only being 50, they’ll cost £186,500. Each.