Meet the 840bhp, RM8.99m Glickenhaus 007 racer

By topgear, 13 February 2020

Sure, 007’s taken a few varied forms over the years, but none have been this fast. Or indeed, this red. Connery’s screen presence packed a punch, but even the big man didn’t have 840bhp.

Welcome then, to Glickenhaus’s 007: a future competitor for the upcoming hypercar class in the World Endurance Championship and of course, its headline race: the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Jim’s been aching to go toe-to-toe with the big boys of the championship, and this rosso-liveried racer is his punch. “We will be standing in the rain at Le Mans, watching a car we created blur past,” said Jim. “It will be a proud day for us and America.”

Looks the nuts, doesn’t it? The few details we have at this early stage tease something special underneath, too. It will weigh just 1,110kg, sport a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 “developed for and branded Glickenhaus”, produce 840bhp and cost €2million (RM8.99million).

We’re told the engineering process is already at pace, and later this month they’ll start wind tunnel testing. The subsystems will be built by July, the car in August, and in September it’ll hit the track for the very first time.

Glickenhaus’s team brings a wealth of racing and motorsport experience, and don’t forget SCG – Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus – already boasts a multitude of podiums and class victories in 24-hour racing. Long story short, the team can race.

With Toyota, Aston Martin and now SCG confirmed, and potentially a few other big ticket names interested (ahem, Koenigsegg), Le Mans might just become the very best race in the world.