A revival of the historic British marque Vanwall is underway, based in Germany and led by Colin Kolles, a former Formula 1 manager who currently runs the racing team ByKolles.
ByKolles is looking to enter the World Endurance Championship as Vanwall, in the premier Hypercar class with a new LMH race car.
The class is only open to manufacturers, which means ByKolles needs to offer a production car to be eligible. Enter the Vanwall Vandervell S, an electric hot hatch named after Vanwall founder Tony Vandervell.
Revealed on Monday, the Vandervell S is promised to start deliveries in Europe later in 2023. Only 500 examples are planned, with the starting price confirmed at 128,000 euros (approximately $138,000). Production is due to take place at ByKolles’ headquarters in Greding, Germany.
ByKolles Le Mans Hypercar race car
Two versions are promised: the standard Vandervell S with 320 hp and a spicier Vandervell S Plus with 580 hp. Both will offer all-wheel drive and a promised range of more than 250 miles. The 0-60 mph times are estimated at 4.9 seconds and 3.4 seconds, respectively.
The exterior styling draws heavily from 1980s-era rally icons like the Audi Sport Quattro and Lancia Delta S4, while the interior, which hasn’t been revealed yet, is said to be lined in leather and carbon fiber.
The exterior will also feature carbon-fiber elements, as well as 22-inch wheels.
ByKolles has also previously announced production plans for a road-going version of its proposed LMH race car. Referred to as the Vandervell 1000, a prototype was rolled out last September.
The original Vanwall was a British racing team that counted the likes of Stirling Moss and Lotus founder Colin Chapman among its drivers, and was the winner of the first F1 Constructors’ Championship in 1958. A previous effort to revive the marque was made a few years back with a plan to build a handful of continuation examples of Vanwall’s 1958 F1 car. It’s unclear if those cars were ever built.
