New Mexican built sports car
09-08-2011, 10:39 AM
#1
New Mexican built sports car
Ocoyoacac, Mexico — When Mexico's first two-seat production sports car rolls out of the plant this month, at stake will be not just automotive bragging rights, but also national pride.
There have been plenty of naysayers. Automotive commentators in England were so derisive of the idea of a Mexican sports car earlier this year that they set off a diplomatic fracas. Mexico demanded an apology, and got it.
The Mastretta MXT, a Mexican-designed high-performance sports car, is being produced at a factory 30 miles west of Mexico City. Owners are promised an exhilarating experience when they hammer the accelerator.
The hand-built, rear-engine MXT accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Its designers say it's built for people who itch to get onto the track.
"We are targeting a niche," said Jean-Paul Capin, the chief financial officer of Mastretta Cars, a division of Tecnoidea SAPI de CV, an engineering and design house based in Mexico City. The typical buyer will be a speed lover who has access to local raceways, and about $58,000 to spare.
"On the track, it's a giant-killer," Capin said. "You can race against really high-end sports cars, Porsches and Corvettes, because of the power-to-weight ratio and the way the cars are set up. On the track, they are highly competitive against those cars at a fraction of the price."
But whether a small company can realize its dreams of becoming what one auto analyst called the Mexican Lotus is a different matter.
Few doubt Mexico's broader automotive capabilities. Mexico is the world's 10th biggest auto manufacturer, after China, Japan, the United States, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, India, France and Spain.
Factories in Mexico pump out more than 2 million units a year; the auto industry is Mexico's largest manufacturing sector, employing about 560,000.
Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, General Motors and many other global automakers have major operations in Mexico, and hundreds of companies supply them with components, from engine parts to bearings and moldings.
The cluster of associated industries is partly why Carlos and Daniel Mastretta thought they could make a go of it producing hand-built sports cars. Some 65 percent of the 1,900 components that go into the Mastretta MXT are available regionally, and the high labor costs of a hand-built car give them an edge in Mexico, where wages are low.
The Mastrettas have spent two decades designing public transportation vehicles for the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, and prototype race cars.
Business experts give the Mastrettas only a fighting chance to survive on a small scale, even though they set fairly modest production goals: 25 to 30 cars this year, 120 to 150 units in 2012, and 250 or so the year after that.
"It's possible they can thrive as a niche market," said Tapen Sinha, a supply-chain expert and professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. "But if you ask me if they'll produce 5,000 cars, I don't think so."
The new hand-built Mastretta sports cars of Mexico require about 300 hours of labor each, the company says. (Tim Johnson / MCT)
There have been plenty of naysayers. Automotive commentators in England were so derisive of the idea of a Mexican sports car earlier this year that they set off a diplomatic fracas. Mexico demanded an apology, and got it.
The Mastretta MXT, a Mexican-designed high-performance sports car, is being produced at a factory 30 miles west of Mexico City. Owners are promised an exhilarating experience when they hammer the accelerator.
The hand-built, rear-engine MXT accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Its designers say it's built for people who itch to get onto the track.
"We are targeting a niche," said Jean-Paul Capin, the chief financial officer of Mastretta Cars, a division of Tecnoidea SAPI de CV, an engineering and design house based in Mexico City. The typical buyer will be a speed lover who has access to local raceways, and about $58,000 to spare.
"On the track, it's a giant-killer," Capin said. "You can race against really high-end sports cars, Porsches and Corvettes, because of the power-to-weight ratio and the way the cars are set up. On the track, they are highly competitive against those cars at a fraction of the price."
But whether a small company can realize its dreams of becoming what one auto analyst called the Mexican Lotus is a different matter.
Few doubt Mexico's broader automotive capabilities. Mexico is the world's 10th biggest auto manufacturer, after China, Japan, the United States, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, India, France and Spain.
Factories in Mexico pump out more than 2 million units a year; the auto industry is Mexico's largest manufacturing sector, employing about 560,000.
Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, General Motors and many other global automakers have major operations in Mexico, and hundreds of companies supply them with components, from engine parts to bearings and moldings.
The cluster of associated industries is partly why Carlos and Daniel Mastretta thought they could make a go of it producing hand-built sports cars. Some 65 percent of the 1,900 components that go into the Mastretta MXT are available regionally, and the high labor costs of a hand-built car give them an edge in Mexico, where wages are low.
The Mastrettas have spent two decades designing public transportation vehicles for the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, and prototype race cars.
Business experts give the Mastrettas only a fighting chance to survive on a small scale, even though they set fairly modest production goals: 25 to 30 cars this year, 120 to 150 units in 2012, and 250 or so the year after that.
"It's possible they can thrive as a niche market," said Tapen Sinha, a supply-chain expert and professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. "But if you ask me if they'll produce 5,000 cars, I don't think so."
The new hand-built Mastretta sports cars of Mexico require about 300 hours of labor each, the company says. (Tim Johnson / MCT)
09-08-2011, 11:35 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
But can you fit your head with helmet out that window? Production will start in 2007 with a "Track Day" car available by 2008?? Same people that started the Skip Barber "Club" at Limerock? 
http://www.fastdrive.org/2007-mastretta-mxt-prototype/
http://mastrettacars.com/
http://www.fastdrive.org/2007-mastretta-mxt-prototype/
http://mastrettacars.com/
09-08-2011, 11:44 AM
#3
Nordschleife Master
09-08-2011, 11:55 AM
#5
But can you fit your head with helmet out that window? Production will start in 2007 with a "Track Day" car available by 2008?? Same people that started the Skip Barber "Club" at Limerock?
http://www.fastdrive.org/2007-mastretta-mxt-prototype/
http://mastrettacars.com/
http://www.fastdrive.org/2007-mastretta-mxt-prototype/
http://mastrettacars.com/
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2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster
09-08-2011, 12:04 PM
#6
Looks like MXT uses the 2.0L I4 Ecoboost engine from the Focus ST, Explorer, Edge garenering about the same hp and torque figures. Only Ford seems to use the Duratec name. Makes sense since Mastretta is too small yet to produce its own engines. I hope they make it since more sports cars out there the better, and price is attractive.
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2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster
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2001 Orient Red Metallic Boxster
