Feasibility
What the base carries, what has to be redone, what cannot be done. With costs and risks lined up.
6–10 weeks03 / One-off cars
The client has one car in mind. Our job is to tell them, before they spend, whether that car can be built — and then to build it.
The point
The difference between a one-off and a body kit is feasibility.
A body kit is decided by looking at renders. A one-off is decided by looking at numbers.
A unique project has a single example to carry everything: development, mistakes, testing. There is no second car to correct things on. That is why feasibility weighs more here than in any other programme, and why we do it first and charge for it separately.
At the end of feasibility the client has three things: what can be built on the chosen base, what it really costs, and what happens if they change their mind halfway. With those three, they may also decide not to do it. We consider that a good outcome.
When it goes ahead, it is a real engineering project: structural calculation, simulated dynamics, production drawings, supplier supervision and validation on track. Not a unique piece that only looks good standing still.
The route
Four phases, with an exit after the first.
Feasibility is a closed, self-contained piece of work. Whoever commissions it is not obliged to continue with us.
Engineering
Chassis, body, dynamics, systems. Calculation, simulation and production drawings.
4–8 monthsBuild
Supplier selection and supervision, quality control, managing changes as they come up.
8–14 monthsValidation
Set-up and track testing until the car does what was promised.
2–4 monthsWhat it covers
Inside the project.
01
Choosing and analysing the base
Which starting car carries the idea. Sometimes the answer is a different base from the one the client had in mind, and that has to be said early.
02
Chassis and structure
Structural verification, modifications, reinforcement, roll cage where required. Calculated, not judged by eye.
03
Body and aerodynamics
Surfaces, downforce, cooling. The shape has to hold up while the car is moving, not only in photographs.
04
Dynamics and set-up
Suspension designed for this car, not adapted to it. This is where a one-off genuinely separates itself.
05
Systems and integration
Powertrain, cooling, brakes, electronics. The least visible work and the one that sinks the most projects.
06
Documentation
Drawings, calculations, maintenance procedures and an owner's manual for the car. What the person using it in ten years will need.
Visual reference
The language of the project.
Questions
Before starting.
What does feasibility cost?
It depends on the base and the ambition of the project, and it is quoted on request. Order of magnitude to be confirmed with the directors before publication.
What is fixed is the principle: feasibility is a closed engagement, with a price stated up front and a document delivered at the end.
Will the car be road legal?
Only if the project is conceived that way, and it has to be decided at the first meeting: it changes structure, systems and components deeply.
Approval routes for single examples differ from country to country. Feasibility states which route applies and what it costs in time.
Do you build the car yourselves?
We engineer it, select the suppliers and supervise the build. Physical construction happens at specialist workshops and coachbuilders chosen for that project.
That is deliberate: it lets us pick the right supplier for each part instead of making whoever is in-house do all of it.
Who owns the project?
The client, as far as the car and its specific drawings go. Our methods and calculation tools stay ours.
The rule goes into the contract before work starts, along with the exclusivity clause: a one-off stays one.
First step
Start with feasibility.
A closed engagement, a document in your hands, and the freedom to stop there. It is the cheapest way to find out whether the idea stands up.