Ascari
Although named after an Italian racing legend, the Ascari factory is situated in a quaint part of middle England. And the company also has a 'race resort' in southern Spain, where people can take a vacation and blat around a track all day. There's a motorsport program too-the team has competed at Le Mans and Daytona. The company's current offering is the KZ1, made of carbon fiber over a tubular steel frame and powered by a 5.0-liter V8.
Peak Power: 507 hp
Peak Torque: 369 lb-ft
0-62 mph: 3.7 sec.
Top Speed: 200 mph
www.ascari.net
TVR
Blackpool is the Las Vegas of northwest England. It's also where TVR cars are made. The company has had a stormy past and is now owned by a Russian. Its cars often had big, hairy V8s and lightweight fiberglass bodies. Things like ABS have been frowned upon in the past, but the cars are usually 10 tons of fun and tend to look pretty wild. The newest model, the Sagaris coupe, has a proprietary 4.0-liter straight six along with Bilstein coilovers and would relieve Brits of 58,750 of their pounds.
Peak Power: 385 hp
Peak Torque: 349 lb-ft
0-60 mph: 3.7 sec.
Top Speed: 160+ mph
www.tvr.co.uk
Noble
Lee Noble is a British engineer and designer who has also stood on several podiums as a successful racer. So he knows how to make a fast, superb-handling car. Past offerings, like the M12, have used a Ford-sourced V6 that was twin-turbocharged and mid-mounted. Noble cars don't have things like ABS, traction control, or electric windows, so purist appeal is high. The M15 is now on the horizon and will have some electronic driver aids and amenities, along with a boosted 3.0-liter engine. The zero-to-100 mph time is said to be eight seconds.
Peak Power: 461 hp
Peak Torque: N/A
0-60 mph: 3.5 sec.
Top Speed: 185 mph
www.noblecars.com