After nearly 40 years building and preparing some of the world’s greatest road and race cars wearing other OEM’s names, RML says it is very close to launching its very own Short Wheelbase ‘Car Zero’, the first model to carry the company’s own name and logo.
Who are RML, you may ask? They’re the behind-the-scenes team that get commissioned to help turn various manufacturers’ dreams into a reality. They don’t get much of the spotlight, but rest assured you have seen their work.
One project they’re particularly proud of is converting the Aston Martin Vulcan for road use. You can see they play at the higher end of the concept world.
And now comes Car Zero, said to be a classic V12 engine in a carbon composite body.
Installation of the Short Wheelbase’s 5.5-litre V12 engine marks the start of the final stage of build before Car Zero is completed next month and ready to embark on an intensive, highly concentrated durability programme, matching the highest industry standards. In the meantime, RML has started preparation of the first two customer cars, each of which will take six months to build.
‘Having a fully painted body-on-chassis with engine installed is a real landmark in the Short Wheelbase’s birth,’ said Michael Mallock, RML’s CEO. ‘This first example will now be completed by next month, ready for the industry-standard test schedule we have planned. But it’s also given us the green light to start build of our customer cars, which makes the whole programme very real all of a sudden!’