Is There Room In The Market For A Mexican Sportscar?

When Mexico's first two-seat production sports car rolls out of the plant this month, at stake will be not just automotive bragging rights, but also national pride.

There have been plenty of naysayers. Automotive commentators in England were so derisive of the idea of a Mexican sports car earlier this year that they set off a diplomatic fracas. Mexico demanded an apology, and got it.

The Mastretta MXT, a Mexican-designed high-performance sports car, is being produced at a factory 30 miles west of Mexico City. Owners are promised an exhilarating experience when they hammer the accelerator.

The hand-built, rear-engine MXT accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Its designers say it's built for people who itch to get onto the track.
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Neverfollow - 9/8/2011 1:21:54 PM

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OMG! trying so hard to be a good boy and not say anything........stop.....typing......now............stop it!

Yonder7 - 9/8/2011 2:58:38 PM

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Does it comes with tacos and Enchiladas ?

bmwdrvr - 9/8/2011 3:45:26 PM

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Is this thing based on the Smart roadster they look identical from the front

GTR35 - 9/8/2011 4:34:51 PM

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^^^^ bahahaha ^^^^

ok I'm not Mexican but my wife is so please guys stop it with the racial jokes!! hahahaha jk... "Powered by bean farts?"!!! Hilarious! would that be considered bio-diesel or natural gas? lmao

as far as the car is concerned, i say there is always room for another sports car in the world. the more the better. BUTT it's powered by a VW beetle engine which is also hilarious.

Dustbuster - 9/9/2011 11:03:52 AM

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$58k? Really? How much is their labor cost? Buying a car from of unknown quality and reliability at $28k, maybe - but not for Porsche money. 0-60 at 4.6 is quick, but once again not leaps and bounds ahead at this price point. Keep in mind that it's in the ballpark of Cayman, 1-Series M, TT RS, Corvette, Elise, etc. etc.

AlleVier - 9/9/2011 1:11:41 PM

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0-60 time as the measure of price point? Really? If the car is not overloaded with luxury content or super-high tech (as is required of the heritage marques) it has the possibility of being reasonably reliable and immensely entertaining.

That and exclusivity will justify the similar price-point. Now, if it doesn't handle well, that's another story. Being over 15 years of age, I am not among those who laugh at the idea of it being Mexican. It's lack of heritage will free it to offer a different proposition from the cars you mention. Variety is the spice of life and Mexicans know their spice.

Dustbuster - 9/9/2011 5:31:03 PM

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AlleVier: Alright, let's skip 0-60mph because it's a arbitrarily set standard. It was the only stat quoted in the article. Being over 15 years of age, I also know that craftsmanship and engineering resources tend to be much tighter for a manufacturer working with low volumes and little purchasing power. Now let's be honest here, if you could have any car for $60k for free, where would this Mexican sportscar rank?

AlleVier - 9/9/2011 6:13:24 PM

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Probably low on the list, especially since we know little about it so far. But in your hypothetical scenario (free $60K car) if I otherwise couldn't afford it, I would obviously go for a known commodity. If I were rich and had other cars, I might be an early adopter.

But that's all beside the point. I'm arguing against the idea that the price is out of line for a hand-built car produced at a clip of "25 to 30 cars this year, 120 to 150 units in 2012, and 250 or so the year after that." (Also, the "over 15" wasn't directed at you, but at the "El Tard" types.)