Al Melling

Al Melling is a prolific car engine designer. He has been in business since 1964, and in recent years he has been the designer of TVR's own V8 engine and then was a potential supplier of an engine to the consortium of Rolls-Royce enthusiasts who aimed to outbid BMW and Volkswagen for the Crewe based company. Melling was marked down as an outsider, and for 34 years Melling Consultancy Design, (MCD), was restricted by confidentiality agreements in which the people paying the bills took designs as intellectual property. He designed the engine which helped Jaguar win Le Mans four years on the run, and he has always wanted his own car in the world's most exciting road race. "The sale of the "Hellcat" will enable me to take a team to Le Mans," he said.

Melling Consultancy Design, (MCD)

Rochdale based MCD produced the TVR Speed Six engine – a high-torque, 24 valve canted straight six – which was cheaper to produce and more refined for road cars. MCD's work ranges from outboard motors and motorcycle engines to a Formula 1 engine. The F1 engine, which features four vales and three tiny MCD designed spark plugs per cylinder, has recently been tested and will soon go into a test programme.

Designer Al Melling has tried promising F1 engine designs on several occasions. Working for Scott Russell Engines, a conventional 90-degree V8 was built and tested but never got into a Grand Prix car. Another design, purely on paper, was to have been a wide 165-degree angle V12 to be built with General Motors support but GM withdrew and the project died. Melling's Lola V10 design that was ultimately intended for the Lola GP debuted in 1997, with Ford EC V8 engines. This project sank together with the Lola GP team in the beginning of 1997.

The new Norton Motorcycles, Inc., utilizing the classic Norton name, has at its heart one of Al Melling’s engines designed to be innovative, powerful and reliable. The power output figures for both the Nemesis and its cruiser-like sibling, the Nirvana reflect Norton's focus on the power and efficiency in its engine designs. The sport-oriented Nemesis contains a 1500 cc V8 engine with a claimed convert|235|hp and convert|111|ft.lbf|N.m of torque. This horsepower figure significantly surpasses the horsepower-per-litre derived from Yamaha's R-1, for example.

The current MCD business model is 60% pure engine design, 30% diagnostic work for clients whose engines have problems, and 10% working as expert witness for clients involved in legal wrangles. MCD has produced several engine inventions, such as a racing piston that can be produced by a new simpler process with a cost of just under £20 each instead of £150. A most intriguing invention is a new main bearing design, which is claimed will cut power losses dramatically.

1175bhp 6-litre V10-powered Sports Car

Al Melling's hand-built "Hellcat" car - costing £100,000 - has 1175hp delivered by a 6-litre V10 engine with the block and heads are milled from solid billets of aluminium rather than cast. The car is front-engined with rear-wheel-drive using a carbon fibre monocoque body and chassis, independent wishbone suspension and a six speed trans-axle, inspired by the Chevrolet Corvette. Its weight is 1,200 kg, with convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on coming up in an F1-rivalling 2.8 seconds, and a Vmax of 200mph-plus. Melling plans a GT1 version to challenge Aston Martins, Vipers and Corvettes at Le Mans in 2007. The cabin is race-inspired with deep bucket seats, harnesses and carbon trim. Only 50 a year will be produced by Melling Consultancy Design's factory in Rochdale, Lanacashire, and sold through one national dealer.

The car underwent tests in California, the biggest market being in the United States, but the car is expected to sell all over the world. Melling is quoted to have said: "A market survey revealed the Hellcat would look best in silver, so you can have it any colour - as long as it is silver."

At the launch Melling said: “The Hellcat is the climax of my career - the car I've been working towards it all my life.”

External links

* Melling Sport Cars [http://www.mellingsportscars.co.uk/]
* MCD [http://www.mcdeng.co.uk/html/profile.html]
* Rochdale Observer [http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk/news/s/213/213264_move_over_ferrari__hellcats_in_top_gear.html]
* Manchester Evening News [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/cars/news/s/213/213742_als_revved_up_to_take_on_ferrari.html]
* Motorcycle Daily [http://www.motorcycledaily.com]
* Autocar [http://www.autocar.co.uk]