♔ ‘The exhaust note isn’t a sound; it’s a full-blown declaration of war on the modern hybrid.’
Take a 1960s McLaren prototype, feed it champagne and steroids, and get the Nichols N1A ICON 88.
It’s not just a car – it’s a rolling rebuke to everything with touchscreens and driver aids.
Fifteen will be built, each dripping with Monaco chic and Le Mans grit.
Think of it as history, but wearing Savile Row and sunglasses.
(Read On…..)
1967 – Birth of a Rebel:
◼︎ Frank Nichols, founder of Elva, collaborates with Bruce McLaren on the first McLaren prototype – the M1A.
◼︎ Sleek, snarling, and as subtle as a glass of brandy thrown in your face, it laid the foundations for what would become Formula One’s most storied marque.
The Nichols N1A Reborn:
◼︎ Fast-forward half a century. Nichols Cars revives the spirit with the N1A ICON 88.
◼︎ Imagine a car resembling a 1960s racer escaped Goodwood, then spent winter in a Monaco penthouse gym.
◼︎ Only 15 are being built, each blending hand-formed aluminium curves and a Corvette V8 with over 600bhp.
◼︎ Old money glamour meets modern savagery – and a claimed top speed brushing 200mph.
2025 – The Modern Collector’s Trophy:
◼︎ In today’s rarefied collector circles, the ICON 88 is more than transport.
◼︎ It’s an objet d’art – a £400,000 conversation piece likely to be found beside the wine cellar and the yacht.
◼︎ But drive it? Oh yes. It still bites, still bellows, makes your pulse do press-ups.
◼︎ And unlike most hypercars, it’s recognisably human in scale – a gentleman’s racing shoe with a V8 for a sole.
♔ ‘With only fifteen being built, the odds of seeing another on the road are about the same as bumping into Elvis at the Dorchester.’
