Currently reading: Melling Wildcat revealed

A new £45k two-seater has just been launched and it's called a Melling Wildcat

Melling Sports Cars has unveiled its new £45,000 Wildcat V8 two-seater. The company aims to deliver the first Wildcat production cars to the UK buyers from its factory in Rochdale, Lancashire, by the end of the year.

The Wildcat, which is described by creator Al Melling as “the car the TVR Griffith should have been” will also be made in a new factory in Las Vegas.Transatlantic deliveries should begin next spring. When both plants are working, volume is planned at 15 to 20 cars a month.

The Wildcat, sister car to the Hellcat prototype Melling has already shown, is slightly longer and about four inches wider than a TVR Griffith.Its traditional design has been kept delibrately simple and robust to give owners opportunities to modify it to their own specification.

Melling intends to offer chassis and power upgrades. As standard the Wildcat gets a tuned, 460bhp GM ‘small block’ V8, driving through a six-speed manual gearbox. The chassis is an all-new, box-section steel structure, with built-in roll hoops and side-intrusion protection.

Suspension is by double unequal length wishbones in front and there is a coil-sprung live rear axle, with four locating links. Dampers both ends are adjustable, and the brakes, front and rear, are large ventilated discs with four-pot calipers.

Steve Cropley

Steve Cropley Autocar
Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business. 

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back. 

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.

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lilianna 4 April 2014

I bet is as boring and

I bet is as boring and anonymous as the last model.
Cam Man 27 August 2008

Re: Two-seater Melling Wildcat revealed

Just read the review in Autocar. £45k for F**k all!

Read it yourself and go and buy something else.

Griff Chris 10 August 2008

Re: Two-seater Melling Wildcat revealed

WOW! What a car. It's about time the thoroughbred British sportscar was back. Just hope that it sounds right! As for the proportions, it looks like they have nailed the awkward tall windscreen look of the Griff. It looks like a hot rod!