Perrinn seeks investment for LMP1 project
Fledgling British constructor Perrinn Limited is aiming to sell equity in the company in order to raise the funds to put its LMP1 design on the racetrack
Owner Nicolas Perrin is looking for £2million for a 30 per cent stake in order to build the four-wheel-drive Perrinn LMP1, which was first announced in May 2013, and then undertake initial testing of the car.
"I need to stop just talking about it and build a running car now," Perrin told AUTOSPORT.
"There are people who are really interested in racing the car in the World Endurance Championship, but they want to see it up and running first."
Perrin, who has added an extra 'n' to his surname to create his brand, believes raising £2million with a sale of equity is a realistic target.
"I believe this is very attractive proposition because we are still a start-up company and this is a good moment for someone to get involved for a relatively small investment," he said.
A crowdfunding plan aimed at raising the finance to build the LMP1 has now been abandoned.
Yorkshire-based Perrinn plans to use the normally-aspirated 4.4-litre Judd DBV8 under development at Engine Developments and its own kinetic energy-recovery system.
"It will be a bespoke KERS system with a battery energy-storage system that will involve buying many of the components and then putting them together ourselves," explained Perrin.
The car would definitely have a front-axle KERS and, most likely, a Toyota-style second system on the rear axle if the 870kg weight target for the car could be met.
He revealed that the target was to get the Perrinn up and running by next summer.
"We want to go to Silverstone and run for a couple of weeks before we do a performance test in front of the media to prove the potential of our car," he said.
"We want to show that as an independent organisation we can design and build a competitive four-wheel-drive hybrid P1 car."
F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg approached Porsche for Le Mans deal
Extreme Sports adds Fogarty, Heinemeier Hansson to 2015 line-up
Castroneves: “Too early” to think about potential replacement by Blomqvist
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves says it’s too soon to consider Meyer Shank Racing might want to swap him to the IMSA squad and bring Tom Blomqvist over to IndyCar.
Why some DTM teams take out crash insurance but others gamble
The 2022 DTM season featured several major pile-ups and accidents, costing teams several hundred thousands in repair costs. While some had insured cars against such damage, others weren’t so well prepared…
Ricciardo: Australian GP buzz will tell me a lot about F1 comeback
Red Bull third driver Daniel Ricciardo says attending his home grand prix in Melbourne will likely tell him whether he wants to make a full-time comeback to Formula 1 or not.
Kirkwood admits he overdrove as an IndyCar rookie
Kyle Kirkwood admits he was overdriving at AJ Foyt Racing in 2022 and is expecting to rebuild his reputation at Andretti Autosport.
Why the WEC should make space for modern garagistes in 2023
OPINION: There is plenty of excitement over the glut of manufacturers tackling the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship this season. The selection committee is set to face headaches over who it decides to admit and who gets turned away from the 2023 entry list, but history tells us that the smaller entrants have a place
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
Is Qatar the price motorsport fans have to pay?
OPINION: Fresh from hosting a controversial 2022 football World Cup, Qatar has added its name to the 2024 World Endurance Championship calendar. Although questions may be asked about its presence on the calendar, is it simply the price to pay for having a healthy racing championship?
How Toyota defeated Alpine for the 2022 WEC title
Toyota #8 trio Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa outscored their rivals in the last season before the World Endurance Championship’s top class gets ultra-competitive. Here's how their Hypercar battle with Alpine and the remaining class tussles played out in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, were voted as Autosport's greatest sportscar in 2020 - here's why
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.