The Spectre R42 is a 2-seater mid-engined rear-wheel drive sports car manufactured by British boutique automobile manufacturer Spectre Supersports Ltd. History Ray Christopher, associated with the GT Development firm, which was notable for building accurate replicas of Ford GT40 envisioned his own version of the GT40 of the 1990s. The R42 was the modern reincarnation of the GT40 and had similar layout, proportions and updated monocoque construction. The name R42 paid homage to the original GT40 (the height of the GT40 was 42 inches and R was the a breviation for the designer's first name Ray). The design incorporated elements from the famous sports cars of the time such as the Lamborghini Countach, the Jaguar XJR-15 and the Ferrari 288 GTO. The coefficient of drag of was considered the best in its class. Ray's original intention was to create an endurance racing car which could emerge victorious at LeMans, just like the GT40. In order to achieve this feat, a limited number of road going examples of the car were required to be produced in order for the car to be homologated for racing. Development of the car began in late 1992 and a scale model was built for wind testing along with a running prototype. The R42 was first shown at the 1993 London Motor Show held in October. Unfortunately, the company went into receivership due to high development costs of the car and ongoing economic recession. A take-over by the American company Spectre Motors Inc. led by GT Development's former sales agent Anders Hildebrand in March 1995, brightened the possibility of the R42 going into production. Anders brought the rights of the car for US$2.5 million and put it into production just four months later at a 12,000 sq. ft.production facility in Poole, a small town located in Dorset, England. Each car took 2,000 man hours to manufacture. Anders reorganized production, brought in investors and involved Derek Bell as chairman and development consultant. He also launched the ALCO-Spectre racing programme, resulting in the development of the R42 GTR, the racing variant of the R42. The company sold the R42 for GB£70,000 each and only managed to sell 23 cars with most of the cars destined to Switzerland. Quality issues would suffice and the choice of fibreglass over the originally planned carbon fibre along with poor fit and finish resulted in negative reviews. The automotive press also reprimanded the