2016 MistralAs 2015 AMWEC season came to a close, the vicorious Sepang claimed it's rightful place among the hypercar market, the same could be not said about the Adelaide. The shortcomings of the car were analyzed and as it was time to put the aging car to rest, KHT has taken all it's new found information and experience to build a new car. The chassis was derivative of the Adelaide, but this time with enough breathing room to spec the car to pretty much any changes to be made to officially homologate it to the next racing season. First glimpse of the car has been seen on racetracks being perfected and tested under the name of Mistral.
Mistral in 2015 AMWEC spec.
The preliminary test have shown the potential of the chassis. Powered by the last years AMWEC spec engine, the lighter car was initially built to 2015 AP1 specificaitons. The results pleased the KHT CEO, as the car was on average 2 seconds faster around the test track than the last year winning AP1 spec Sepang. The tamer, closer to street spec version of the car could later be seen at a press event at Laguna Seca, racing against an array of cars including ManHell 1k76 and Auxuras CZ6-R, proving that a street legal version would a bit extreme to be a real successor to the i4 powered Adelaide.
Exclusive press event photo, including the Mistral prototype, Auxuras CZ6-R and a Manhell 1k76 supercar
The public first saw the Mistral in AMWEC spec at Chicago motor show, where it was presented alongside with it's bigger brother - the Sepang, also in AMWEC AP1 trim, fresh from 24h race at Le Mans, still bearing dirt, scuffs and signs of battle damage received at the track. This was a good move for some attention on behalf of the marketing department, as KHT went into the the motor show victorious in it's class, and reaped the benefits of fresh hype created by Sepang AP1 to introduce the Mistral.
Chicago Motor Show display of KHT
In early 2016 the search of a suitable engine began, since the racing unit in the prototype was for all intents and purposes a racing engine that could never be reliable driven on the streets. A partnership with the JSC company soon was formed, and a bespoke 3.2 liter v6 unit was created for the chassis in 350 and 400hp trims. Taking full advantage of carbon fiber chassis and body, the lightweight car proved an excellent match for the high revving v6 supplied by JSC. The new market was researched and new competitors were analyzed, coming to a conclusion that the chassis could easily multi-task covering the most of the sector in 3 varying trims.
S350
The s350 is the entry level comfort oriented sportscar, aimed at slicing a bit of Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera S clientele. A 350 horsepower engine propelled the car to 100kph in 3.8 seconds, with the use of a 6 speed manual transmission, and topped out at exactly 300kph. Inside a very high quality sports interior was complimented by a premium level infotainment system and an array of driver aids that could be turned off completely shall the driver wish to. The S350 is priced at $104,000
RS350
The RS350 is a variation of the S350, but lighter, faster and more capable. This car was aimed at the "superlight" market, as none of the supercars branded so were actually super light. KHT Mistral on the other hand is. Losing almost 200 kilograms of the S350 weight, and weighing in at just 900kg, the RS350 features the same engine and transmission as the entry level car, but sporting an electric LSD instead of a geared unit. The exterior is more aggressive, featuring canards and air ducts, optimizing the aerodynamics to produce actual downforce, now also featuring magnesium wheels. The interior is where most of the changes are apparent, as it lacks any sort of infotainment and does not feature much more than a couple of bucket seats, lots of open carbon fiber, and a digital dash with a data logger function. The crash diet allows the RS350 to accelerate to 100kph in 3.2 seconds and the new aero restricts its top speed to 285kph. Unlike most competitors in the market, however, KHT has gone for the honest pricetag of $100,000, not asking extra cash for not giving the client less kit.
RS400
The extreme RS400 represents all the KHT racing experience. Featuring the mostly same interior and a crash diet as the RS350, the RS400 goes even further. A 6 speed sequential gearbox is only available with the RS400, as well as exclusive for RS400 - the Carbon Fiber wheels and carbon ceramic brakes, along with active aerodynamics and cooling. The interior features extra light carbon fiber bucketseats, and loses all the sound damping materials for extra weight loss, while the interior sports wing and a bodykit much reminiscent of the AP1 prototype and Michelin semi slick street legal tires. The JSC engine is tweaked and tuned to reach 400hp, which is also only available in this track spec version. This allows the 800 kilogram car to accelerate to 100kph in just 2.8 seconds, on par with the most extreme cars, and the top speed is 290kph, providing for closer gear ratios through out the acceleration of the car. The really impressive figure is the 1.55G the car can sustain through a corner. The car is recommended to be used on a racetrack, however KHT went through a lot of trouble to make sure it is also street legal in every country it would be sold in, including Europe, USA and Japan. RS400 is priced at $127,000.
Mistral S350
Mistral RS400