For nearly three decades, Cape Advanced Vehicles (CAV) has been a heavy hitter in the continuation space, hand-building faithful, razor-sharp 1960s GT40 replicas from its workshop in Cape Town, South Africa. But after rolling out more than 220 vintage-spec machines, the firm has decided to drop a massive mechanical bombshell.
Marking six decades since Ford famously decimated Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, CAV has officially unveiled the GT MkII. It isn’t a direct replica. Instead, it is a thoroughbred, high-tech spiritual successor that drops classic GT40 design language directly onto an engineered supercar platform.
The twist? It features a twin-supercharged V8, standard all-wheel drive, and a glorious, uncompromised three-pedal manual transmission.
The Architecture: A Mid-Engine German Secret
While the exterior is covered in raw nostalgia—retaining the legendary low-slung silhouette, dual side air intakes, rear deck snorkels, and iconic round taillights—underneath the carbon-fiber composite skin lies a highly modern, thoroughly German mechanical blueprint.
The GT MkII utilizes an aluminum and carbon-fiber spaceframe derived directly from the Audi R8 platform. Rather than chasing period-correct hardware that breaks your back on the street, CAV opted for an all-wheel-drive system coupled with electronic driver aids, active aerodynamics, and three-way adjustable KW Variant 4 dampers. It drops the classic compromises of vintage racing while multiplying the dynamic performance.
The Powertrain: 9,000 RPM and Three Pedals
Mounted mid-ship is a heavily reworked 4.2-liter Audi V8 breathing through twin centrifugal superchargers and screaming through a lightweight, valved Inconel exhaust system.
Metric | Technical Specification |
|---|---|
Peak Power | 789 HP (800 PS) @ 7,800 rpm |
Peak Torque | 649 lb-ft (880 Nm) |
Redline | 9,000 rpm |
Curb Weight | 2,970 lbs (1,347 kg) |
0-62 mph (0-100 kph) | 3.0 seconds |
Top Speed | 204 mph (330 kph) |
While a six-speed automated single-clutch is standard and a dual-clutch transmission sits on the options list, the real headline for purists is the availability of a traditional six-speed manual gearbox. In an era where modern performance cars are almost exclusively automatic, matching an 800-horsepower, 9,000-rpm supercharged engine with a gated shifter is an absolute love letter to mechanical tactility.
Stopping power is equally severe: monstrous Brembo eight-piston front and four-piston rear calipers clamp down on iron discs, with carbon-ceramics available for track duty.
The Final Run of an Era
This ambitious project is a calculated risk for the boutique South African manufacturer. To clear production capacity for this high-tech monster, CAV is entirely winding down its legacy, original-style GT40 replica builds.
The initial launch iteration of the GT MkII will be designated as a 60th Anniversary Edition, strictly limited to just 40 units worldwide. While official pricing remains undisclosed, the level of bespoke engineering means this piece of street-legal Le Mans theater will demand a serious premium.
Purists might argue that ditching blue-oval power for German engineering strays too far from the original script, but as a visceral machine built to actually be driven hard, the GT MkII delivers an undeniable shot of adrenaline to the modern supercar market.
