The Spectre R45, a rare apparition

Posted by John Mellberg January 30, 2021

The Spectre R45, a rare apparition

The Spectre story starts in the early Nineties, with replica car maker Ray Christopher. Having experience in creating bespoke copies of the legendary Ford GT40, Christopher dreamed of capturing its spirit in an all-new sports car with a modern design and technology. He started design work in 1992, and by 1993 a prototype was ready. It was called the R42, named in reference to the original GT-40's height. The car made its debut at the London Motor Show, shown by Christopher’s company GT Development but he was already planning something new.

The R42's successor was the R45 which was a carbon fiber bodied, mid-engine, rear-drive, supercar powered by a 4.6-liter Mustang Cobra V8 (350 horsepower). The body was mounted on a monocoque chassis, with subframes and roll bars made of steel. A five-speed manual was the standard transmission offering, with a six-speed as optional. Its development began even as the R42 was making its own debut.

The Spectre R45 prototype interior

The new model would have boasted more refined interior accommodations, with higher quality materials commensurate with its likely price tag of nearly $200,000 (in USD). It also had revised styling that was more sculptural and contemporary, giving it less of a cottage built appearance. Christopher incorporated design elements from the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari. These developments were meant to position it better against its competition.

Unfortunately, GT Development went into bankruptcy before the R45 could enter production, as an economic recession took hold across the UK and the globe. The company's assets were purchased in early 1995 by GT Development’s former Marketing head, Anders Hildebrand. Hildebrand named his new company Spectre Motors Inc., and put the R42 into production four months later in Dorset, England. 23 were made.

The Spectre R45 prototype in red

Two examples of the R45 were created: One in a hue of red wine, and the other painted yellow. The yellow one was shown in 1997 at the London Motor show, and Spectre made the claim that a full production version would debut at the same show in 1998. But Spectre was out of money, and closed up shop before 1998’s show.

The rights and intellectual property of Spectre were taken over by C2P (Concept to Production) Ltd who continued to secretly develop the idea of a new model while providing automotive consultancy services to various manufacturers. Their efforts went through a number of iterations and a handful of prototypes have been produced.

The Spectre R45 prototype, in rear 3/4

The company's current focus is on an all electric sportscar, called the SP2 internally, that was slated to begin road testing in 2020 once the powertrain was finalized. Time will tell whether this new effort will reach production.

Sources:
Some images and content came from spectrecars.co.uk