The whole enchilada

The mid-engined Mastretta MXT sportscar — the first car designed and built in Mexico — is capable of 240km/h and does 0-100km/h in less than five seconds.

National pride as well as a burning ambition for their new car motivates the Mastretta brothers, Carlos and Daniel, who have taken the car from idea through concept to reality.

“We needed to create a great car because Mexico has no tradition of sophisticated sports car manufacturing,” says Daniel Mastretta.

“It is most important that our customers are delighted by the new MXT. That's what we aimed to do from the first drawing of the car, but we also want to make our country proud of the MXT and to show the world what we can do.”

Carlos Mastretta said there was a chance the car could come to Australia. “It is a market where we would like to have presence,” he said. “The car will be right-hand drive so that may help.”

Mastretta-Tecnoidea has designed a host of products from buses to oil bottles and has built a Beetle-based coupe, dune buggy and a faux 1962 Corvette from a VWBeetle and GM components.

But the 900kg two-seater MXT coupe is the first fully designed car they have produced.

It is powered by a Ford Duratec two-litre 178kW turbocharged four-cylinder engine and will sell in the US and Europe for between $55,000 and $67,000.

Constructed from bonded aluminium, the semi-monocoque chassis features aircraft-style technology. Closed mould techniques sculpt the body from fibreglass and the air-conditioned interior is leather-trimmed.

It features 293mm ventilated brake discs with ABS and double wishbone suspension front and rear.

Mastretta MXT

PRICE: $67,700

ENGINE: Ford Duratec 2-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder 2.3-litre 16-valve, four-cylinder

POWER: 178kW

TORQUE: 250Nm

POWER/WEIGHT: 267kW/tonne

DIMENSIONS: (mm) 3900 (l), 1790 (w), 1150 (h)

TYRES: 205/45 R17 (front), 235/45 R17 (rear)

WEIGHT: 900kg