Nichols N1A review: big cube Can-Am attitude with pure analogue feedback

Looks amazing, but what does a pushrod V8-powered sportscar have to do with F1?

It really does look amazing, doesn’t it? Plus, the N1A has a hand-built LS7-based 7.0-litre V8 with 700bhp hooked-up to the stunning six-speed manual gearbox from the first generation Audi R8 V10. The shifter is on the right sill, too. Which gives real ‘60s racecar vibes.

But yes, there is an F1 tie-up. Nichols gets its name from Steve Nichols, who had an incredibly successful career designing F1 cars for McLaren. Including the mighty MP4/4, which won 15 of the 16 races in the ‘88 Formula 1 season driven by a couple of drivers you may know – Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

The car itself is inspired by McLaren’s first sports prototype, the M1/A, which was built to race under Group 7 regulations – a very technically open ruleset adopted by the Can-Am championship in North America, which ran from ’66 to ’74. The open, lightweight and V8-powered M1/A laid out the blueprint for the company’s future successes as Can-Am escalated into perhaps the wildest series ever. McLaren won five of the nine championships before Porsche effectively killed the series with its 1,500bhp+, circa 800kg monster called the 917/30 (read about it here – you won’t be disappointed).

So, it’s a track day special with a throwback recipe?

Not according to Nichols. Of course, it’s at home on track but there’s no question that it’s a pretty evocative thing to run around in on an English summer’s evening or, well, any day of the year in somewhere like California. And less of the ‘throwback’, because whilst the N1A might take many cues from the past it’s engineered with modern materials and technology.

The core of the car is a bonded extruded aluminium and carbon fibre chassis. It’s designed and built in collaboration with Stalcom, a company founded by Bob Mustard, who was Technical Director at Lotus’ chassis supplier Hydro Aluminium. The talent pool really does run deep. The N1A also features double wishbone suspension at each corner with four-way adjustable Quantum dampers, plus there’s optional ABS and traction control systems, too. The swoopy yet broad-shouldered body is all carbon fibre and all-up the Nichols weighs under 900kg.

The engine is, of course, a monster normally-aspirated V8. In this case, it’s based on the glorious LS7 7.0-litre Chevy ‘smallblock’ but stripped and then hand-built by Langford Performance Engineering. Owner Dick Langford worked for Cosworth back when the DFV engine ruled F1 and later went on to found his own company, who were prolific in F3000 and even looked after the Ford ‘HB’ engines in F1 for the likes of Jordan in the 1990s. The N1A has two engine maps, a tame setting while you get used to the car and then one marked ‘11’, which unleashes the full 700bhp. Life is short so we start and stick with ‘11’.

How does it drive?

Honestly, the good times start well before you even fire the engine. Open the tiny door, slither down into the seat and take in the view. The driving position is laid right back but feels really natural, the six-speed shifter on the sill looks deeply cool and feels completely intuitive, and the sense you’re in a lightweight but brawny sports prototype is very special. There isn’t the jewellery of the best restomods or hypercars and the aero screen distorts the world slightly (you end up peeking over it, mostly), but the Nichols is evocative in all the right ways.

The six-speed shifter on the sill looks deeply cool and feels completely intuitive

The engine booms to life and is a great reminder that big V8s might not be that clever, but they have a physicality that’s hard to beat. And the ‘box! It feels soooooo good. Within 50 metres you just know the Nichols is going to be a brilliant experience. Funnily enough, those first impressions aren’t dominated by fearsome noise, aggressive response or a ‘racecar for the road’ ethos. The N1A feels beautifully mannered and there’s such fluidity to it that you know the engineering is top quality. Maybe it will prove to be an assault on the senses, but right now it just feels so polished and precise.

Can-Am looks, so it’s scary, right?

Not at all. The power-to-weight ratio might rival a Ferrari F80 and the performance is seriously strong, but the delivery is so linear and the Nichols is so together that it doesn’t really intimidate at all. The ride is extremely composed, the steering is heavy but communicates everything going on a ground level faithfully and the balance is just what you’d expect.

With that big V8 out back you can find some understeer in slower corners but it’s very easy to drive around that trait, or swing the balance the other way with the torque on offer. The N1A is resolutely old-school in terms of sensations but without the fear factor and with the added assurance of ABS and, should you want it, traction control. The engine and gearbox combination is simply unforgettable and outrageously satisfying. Although the noise can get painful right at the top end. It’s not so much the volume, but the V8’s resonances seem to drill directly into your middle ear.

Should I buy one?

What a dilemma, right? You have the required funds for one of the first fifteen N1As built, which all come in ultimate ‘Icon88’ spec (commemorating the MP4/4s absurdly successful F1 season). But for the same price or less there’s a Ferrari 296 Speciale, or a GT3 RS MR (plus a season pass at the ‘Ring and many sets of tyres) or, well, insert any supercar you fancy here. Is the Nichols a realistic rival?

In practical terms, the answer is no. There’s no roof, for a start. Obviously, this is a car that requires more sacrifice and is highly specialised. However, I was shocked at how usable it feels and the ride and brilliantly optimised powertrain combine to make the idea of a long road drive seem really appealing. It’s definitely more at home on bad surfaces than an RS MR! And feels more special than something like a Ferrari Speciale more of the time.

The ride and brilliantly optimised powertrain combine to make the idea of a long road drive seem really appealing

The reality is that Nichols customers will probably have many cars, including modern supercars. And the way it melds long lost tactility with monster performance, the heady theatre of the V8 engine at full cry with an easy-going drivability, and how it wraps up the intensity of Can-Am into a road legal and very friendly monster is quite an achievement. We love this thing.

Photography: John Wycherley