'1000bhp Cerbera'

We don’t often feature readers’ cars, but a 1000bhp Cerbera, with which its owner, Mo Ash, hopes to challenge the Bugatti Veyron’s road-legal speed record, seems worth a look.

Known as Project Phoenix, with the development work being carried out by Austec Racing, the car is much changed from a standard 4.5-litre Cerbera. The V8 has been both bored and stroked to increase its capacity to 6 litres, and it also has new pistons and conrods, a substantially strengthened block, a specially made crankshaft and a race-style dry-sump lubrication system.

The key to the power increase will be a centrifugal supercharger, while a lot of work is going into reducing the intake air temperature, with a charge-cooler and NOS induction intake cooling. The exact power output should be verified by the middle of September.

The propshaft, driveshafts and rear differential are all beefed-up to cope with the increased output, and while the Phoenix presently runs with a six-speed ZF manual gearbox, Ash is also considering a drag-spec automatic.

Southampton-based Carbon Design Technology is responsible for the reshaped bodywork.

The car is no relation to the Cerbera Speed 12 powered by an 880bhp 7.7-litre normally aspirated V12, developed by the TVR factory and featured in evo 079.