In 2004, Ultima released the GTR640, featuring a 640BHP engine. Also in 2000, Ultima conducted another experiment into the use of carbon fibre as a bodywork material - just as it had done with the Sport in the mid-nineties - and although this experiment produced a desireable bodyshell, it was too expensive for such little gain, and was barely lighter than the standard gel-coat GRP body. All this is topped off with a clear coat of gel. Since the GRP is produced with the body colour in it, an Ultima GTR or Can-Am never requires painting. The Ultima bodies are produced in glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), which is polished to give a smooth finish. In 2000, Ultima heralded a new method in body production, which is used only by themselves. The new wheels were created specifically for the car, and removed any compromises Ultima had to make with mass-produced wheels. All the changes were complimented by the addition of Ultima's first alloy wheel design, penned entirely in-house. Inside, a revised air conditioning unit was fitted where specified, along with a radio and a 6-CD changer, bringing the cabin up to almost luxurious standard, banishing the stripped-out racer look of the earlier models. The GTR featured a number of changes over the outgoing Sport, which included the addition of an FIA approved rollcage, a larger radiator, a change in damper length, revised wishbones, a new wiring loom, severe modification to the fuel system and redesigned gearbox mountings, to name but a few. The power was delivered to the road via a Porsche G50 five-speed manual gearbox, or a Getrag manual system - two of the toughest gearboxes to cope with the high performance - as per Ultima tradition. This gave the customer the option to choose another powerplant for the car - a practice which Ultima don't condone. The car was to be supplied in 'turnkey' form, which meant that the car was fully built but not yet road registered, or kit form, for the customer to built themselves. Under the newly-restyled skin, the 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8 was retained, and from launch American Speed Enterprises were the recommended engine suppliers. The moulds were taken from a full-scale clay buck. Marlow and his team used a Sports bodyshell as a base, and set about sharpening the curves and reshaping areas such as the doors and centre section. Although the Sport looked stunning when unveiled in the early-1990s, it was beginning to look a bit dated by the dawn of the new Century. Ted Marlow decided that, for the new car, the Sport tag was too tame, and as such the GTR name was coined. The GTR was launched in 1999, after a full 14-month development period, in which the company beavered over a new design, and new engineering practices for their new model. Designed as the successor to the very successful Ultima Sport, the GTR was a highly modified evolution built to move the Hinckley, Leicestershire concern into the 21st Century. It has everything going for it - world records to its name, power, speed, reliability and mean, purposeful looks. The Ultima GTR has become a by-word on the British performance motoring scene. 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8 by American Speed Enterprises
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