Caterham, Ariel, Morgan, Radical, AC, Noble, TVR: the list of low-volume bespoke British carmakers past and present is already pretty extensive. Now add to the ranks a new name: Nichols Cars.

Its co-founder and namesake is Steve Nichols, the American ex-F1 designer whose CV includes the most successful Formula One car in history: the McLaren MP4/4, which in 1988 won 15 of 16 races in the hands of Ayrton Senna and team-mate Alain Prost.

Nichols also had stints in the premier class working for Ferrari, Sauber, Jordan and Jaguar, so he knows a thing or two about creating fast cars.

And the N1A is certainly that.

The 1960s-inspired supercar is going to be produced in a limited run of just 150 examples. 

The starting price? A whopping £450,000 before tax – so £540,000 inclusive of VAT for us Britons.

But it’s not the price that’s the most eye-popping figure; that would be its power-to-weight ratio.

The stripped-back car weighs less than 900kg and its naturally aspirated 7.0-litre V8 engine produces 700bhp. That means more horsepower per tonne than a Bugatti Chiron.

Not bad for a car built in Northamptonshire…

Britain’s back to the future analogue supercar: The Nichols N1A has started production in Wellingborough as the UK has itself another bespoke carmaker

The N1A broke cover in 2023 but has taken three years to enter production.

While Nichols Cars is based in Surrey, the 150 N1As will be built in partnership with engineer specialist RML (Ray Mallock Limited) in Wellingborough, which has come onboard to ‘play a central role in the delivery of customer vehicles’.

This means Nichols has added his name to a distinguished roster of F1 designers to dabble in road cars.

This includes Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey, who played a significant part in the development of the RB17 hypercar as well as Aston Martin’s Valkyrie. Legendary Formula One designer Gordon Murray has put his 1978 Brabham BT46 ‘fan car’ wizardry into the T.50 supercar, and Lotus’s Colin Chapman needs no introduction.

But, as you can see from the images, this isn’t your typical 2026 supercar.

At £540,000 a piece, the 150 models produced won’t be cheap. And they’ll also be a handful to drive, given the sub-900kg weight and over 700bhp from its naturally-aspirated V8 engine

The N1A name is a pointed reference to the 1967 McLaren M1A Can-Am racer. Nichols has painstakingly attempted to replicate its presence using modern materials

Nichols Cars’ co-founder and namesake is Steve Nichols, the ex-F1 designer who created the McLaren MP4/4 – F1’s most successful race car of all time, winning 15/16 races in 1988

That’s because it hasn’t been mollycoddled by emissions and safety regulations. 

In a world where Ferrari now produces an electric vehicle, the N1A is the antithesis of today’s generation of high-performance cars – and purposely so.

Rather than looking ahead to a world of electrification and self-driving features, it peers some 60 years over its shoulder to the iconic era of ‘Can-Am’ racers.

The high-horsepower, purpose-built race cars from the historic Canadian-American Challenge Cup racing series – which ran from 1966 to 1974 – were famous for having virtually no restrictions.

The no-holds-barred rules produced some of the rawest and most potent sports cars in motorsport history – something Nichols Cars has fully embraced.

‘The move to production follows a comprehensive development programme focused squarely on delivering the purest, most immersive driving experience,’ it says.

‘In production form, the N1A stays true to its original brief as a lightweight, analogue supercar engineered to prioritise feel, balance and mechanical honesty over digital intervention.

‘Inspired by the McLaren M1A and developed under the direction of legendary Formula One designer Steve Nichols, the car distils decades of elite motorsport expertise into a deliberately focused road-going platform.’

Sixties origins: The high-horsepower, purpose-built race cars from the historic Canadian-American Challenge Cup racing series were famous for having virtually no rules or restrictions

In a world where even Ferrari has launched an electric car, the Nichols N1A is raw, anologue and focuses on driving pleasure

Forget luxuries, this is a supercar designed to translate the joy of enjoyment. As such, driving aids are optional – that includes power steering

Despite boasting 700bhp (or 650bhp if you choose the ‘standard’ 6.5-litre Chevrolet V8 engine), all the power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels.

This is delivered by Nichols Cars’ in-house-developed six-speed manual gearbox.

And driver aids are optional.

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The spec sheet says that traction control is ‘available’, while power steering and switchable ABS can be selected as optional extras. 

Essentially, this is a purist’s analogue dream.

If you have the talent to deploy all that power without any electronic assistance, accelerating to 62mph from a standstill will take just 3.5 seconds.

The foundations of its lightweight construction lie in a combination of a bonded aluminium and carbon-fibre chassis, while its uber-retro bodywork is entirely carbon fibre.

The N1A name is a pointed reference to the 1967 M1A racer, which also used a big-block Chevrolet V8, and Nichols has painstakingly attempted to replicate its presence using modern materials and manufacturing processes.

It carries the same bulging front wheel arches, a low-slung nose, a roofless body, an exposed roll cage, and the rounded cockpit sides that were a trademark of Can-Am machines of the era.

The car has also spent time in the wind tunnel to ensure it performs aerodynamically.

The cabin is wonderfully basic by today’s standards and expectations for enormous touchscreens. A totenpole of essential controls rises out of the centre console

Nichols Cars says the N1A has been engineered to ‘prioritise feel, balance and mechanical honesty over digital intervention’. This includes its own six-speed manual gearbox

The half-million-pound British motor uses a bonded aluminium and carbon-fibre chassis, while its uber-retro bodywork is entirely carbon fibre. First deliveries arrive later this year

As for the rest of the chassis, the N1A features independent front and rear suspension with double wishbones and anti-roll bars.

Braking power is provided by motorsport-derived multi-piston calipers.

John Minett, Nichols Cars chief executive, said: ‘The development process has been deeply rewarding, not least because I’ve shared the car openly with customers, race drivers and the media throughout.

‘The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and that feedback has played a valuable part in refining the prototype into the supercar we’re now building.’

The first 15 examples built will be launch edition ‘Icon 88’ cars, commemorating the McLaren MP4/4’s 15 victories during the 1988 Formula One season.

Customer deliveries will begin later this year.