When it comes to supercars, America is fairly well-represented against its European contemporaries with the SSC Ultimate Aero and the Saleen S7. But even if the Land of the Free has some noteworthy machines on its side, the other side of the pond has more options to choose from, including the high-and-mighty Bugatti Veyron.
In an attempt to bolster the American supercar line-up, Mach7 Motorsports, led by its founders, Jeff and Carl Lemke, recently introduced the Falcon supercar at the 2011 Detroit Motor Show. Despite being a pre-production car, all signs are pointing to the Mach77 Falcon being ready for production in the future, at least until after finishing touches and performance tests are done on it.
In any case, Mach7 is looking into building 15 Falcon models every year with seven being built at a time and in six-month intervals. When it becomes ready to be sent off to dealerships, early estimates indicate that the Falcon will be priced at around $200,000, a far cheaper alternative than its American supercar brethren, the Saleen S7 and the SSC Ultimate Aero.
Exterior
The Falcon’s body is made up entirely of carbon fiber although you probably won’t notice as it lies under whatever color scheme the owner wants for his supercar. There are touches of the high-grade material that will still be visible to the naked eye, particularly at the side sills, rear fascia, canopy structure, and replaceable front splitter. Once you open the Falcon’s clamshell hood and the deck lid on the back, you’ll also be seeing the carbon fiber found in the car’s inner structure, wheel wells, and engine bay coverings. The resin-infused carbon fiber panels used in the Falcon were built in-house by M7M and are considered light, corrosion-proof, and crack-resistant, ensuring that its light weight yet boasting of the tensile strength of steel.
On top of all the carbon fiber goodies, the Falcon also has a strong, lightweight hydro-formed chassis that has been combined with aluminum components, ensuring the car’s strength and sturdiness.
Other items of note from the Falcon’s exterior include a removable targa roof panel and a set of 20” forgeline wheels with Michelin 275/35 front and 335/30 rear high performance tires.
Interior
Over at the interior, you’ll find two high-end Venzano racing leather seats, a chrome and leather steering wheel, and state-of-the-art gadgetry that includes a built-in Garmin navigation system, Bluetooth, a built-in iPod/iPhone dock, and a Bose premium sound system.
Performance
Test estimates on the LS3 engine will net a 0-60 mph time of just under four seconds…
The base model of the Falcon will come with a 6.2-liter LS3 Corvette V8 engine that produces around 500 horsepower. Mach7 Motorsports is also offering an upgraded engine option that will come with either an LS7 or LS9 supercharged engine that spikes up the output to 640 horsepower. Test estimates on the LS3 engine will net a 0-60 mph time of just under four seconds with an LS9 supercharged engine hitting the same speed in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of well over 200 mph.
Pricing
Mach7 Motorsports is hoping to build 15 of their Falcons supercars a year with each model costing somewhere around $200,000. Oh, the price you pay for an all-American supercar.
Competition
If we are to consider the Mach7 Motorsports Falcon as an American supercar, then two supercars come to mind in terms of being its most prominent competition: the Saleen S7 and the SSC Ultimate Aero.
Realistically speaking, the Ultimate Aero – and the Ultimate Aero II, for that matter – is a little out of the Falcon’s league, leaving the Saleen S7 as the car that the Falcon will most often be compared to.
Judging by the numbers, the two cars have roughly the same performance specs – the S7 also comes with a V8 engine that produces 550 horsepower – with both vehicles also having optional engine upgrades that pumps up the output to somewhere north of 640 horsepower.
