It’s a Kiwi-built supercar slayer named after Bruce McLaren’s right-hand man, Denny Hulme, which makes this car the only car that will bear the name of a Formula 1 champion (McLaren, if you remember, was only CanAm champion).

Its F1-inspired design and historic McLaren-themed CanAm orange hue sets this apart from supercars like the new McLaren MP4-12C, which looks derivative of a great many supercars.

But you’ll need £220,000 (CanAm) and up to £350,000 (‘F1’ model with launch control and creature comforts) to pilot one.

This particular car, though, has taken well over a million dollars to make. It’s the test mule – ‘Bear 1’, named after Denny’s nickname – developed to fine-tune the handling. It’s done some reasonably rapid laps of the Southern Hemisphere’s fastest circuit, Pukekohe Park Raceway, in the hands of veteran racer Kenny Smith, and of the Southern Hemisphere’s newest circuit, Hampton Downs piloted by F5000 driver (and circuit co-owner) Tony Roberts.

Unlike the car shown at Goodwood, which was a rolling chassis version of the hardtop F1, this is a working version of the CanAm, an open top, open wheel road/race car. The purpose is to evaluate aerodynamics, chassis performance, driving position and driving dynamics before the final specification is decided upon and the final prototype built.

The chassis has been developed with input from Bruce Turnbull. His own racecars, the Saker GT and Sprint, dominate in European racing, even having their own one-make series. The Hulme Supercars have been stylized by Tony Parker, professor of design at Massey University, renowned Chaparral and F1 designer Chuck Pelly is the overall design consultant, and a number of the team are leaders in various automotive fields.

The importants stats, though are:
600-700hp
0-100kph in around 3 seconds
Top speed of 320+kph
Serious cornering g-forces
315-section tyres at the rear
Orgasmic induction noise right next to your ear as the 7-litre engine sucks in huge lungfuls of air.

We live in a world that is cosseting, convenient and comfortable. We have electric blankets, chairs that massage us, and TVs that are wider than our field of vision. Cars like the Hulme CanAm appeal to our primal side – enough of a fright for your average millionaire.

Price: £220,000-350,000

What we like

• Unique styling
• Epic performance
• It’s homegrown Kiwi ingenuity

What we don’t like

• At that price point it’s got stiff competition in the form of the Caparo T1

Words and photos Darren Cottingham