Hear the Wildcat roar

Reporter: David Butterworth
Date online: 27/08/2008

A Rochdale based engine designer and car manufacturer is currently producing his first sports car.

Al Melling, of Melling Consultancy Design on Mellor Street, is finishing work on the £45,000 Wildcat, which features a 5.7 litre V8 engine, producing around 460bhp.

“It’s a car that we think the real sports car enthusiast would want. It’s a real down to earth sports car, and I say it’s the true blooded sports car,” said Mr Melling.

This engine spec makes the Wildcat much more powerful than the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage, both of which are more expensive cars.

Al, however, said that he is not aiming to challenge the Super Car market: “Our main competitor is Shelby in the US. We’re not trying to compete with the big European brands.”

He is intending to have customer upgrades available for the car such as carbon fibre parts, different interiors, different engines and chassis upgrades.

The car you see in Rochdale Online’s pictures is the car you will get for £45,000 and part of that cash will be going to charity. Al explained: “Any car that is sold I will add £2000 to Great Ormond’s Street Hospital or any other children’s charity of the customer’s choice.”

Al has been noted previously for his design and production of TVR’s Speed Six and APJ8 V8 engines, and the Lola V10 for the Lola F1 Team.