Spectre [1] (United Kingdom) - AllCarIndex

Spectre was a British low-volume supercar marque founded by GT Developments’ Ray Christopher in Poole, Dorset, in the early 1990s and revived in the late 2010s under Spectre Cars Ltd. Its first model, the mid-engined R42, entered limited production in 1995 with a Ford 4.6-litre quad-cam V8, an aluminium-honeycomb monocoque and fiberglass body; about two dozen were built before operations ceased by 1998. A successor, the R45, was shown in prototype form in 1997 but did not reach series production. In the 2000s the company documented SP1 (Project 007), a development programme exploring multiple powertrains—including supercharged Ford V8 and V12 options—around an aluminium chassis and composite body, serving as a bridge from the 1990s cars to a planned new range.

Around 2020 Spectre announced the SP2, an all-electric two-seat sports car codenamed Sparrowhawk. The SP2 adopted an aluminium chassis with a semi-integrated lithium-ion battery pack forming part of the structure, a non-structural composite body, and a low-mount seating package; Spectre reported a proof-of-concept phase in 2018–2019, part-funding via the UK Niche Vehicle Network, and intentions for on-road testing after final powertrain selection, while noting the project remained in development with no documented series production. In sum, Spectre’s model history comprised the production R42, the unbuilt but public R45 prototype, and the SP1 and SP2 development programmes that reflected a shift from combustion to planned electric propulsion.