Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:20 PM |
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Avelle GTA / Mullen GT?
What's the connection between these two:
http://inspiratech.biz/ (UK)
http://www.mullenmotorco.com/ (USA)
with regards to their respective models called Avelle GTA and Mullen GT?
I've had a look on Google and I haven't been able to find information about the companies' respective histories.
Also I've found very little information about the cars or pictures of their insides. I see the Mullen is designed to take V8 powertrains but
that's about it.
[Edited on 5/2/12 by Alez]
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:24 PM |
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Ive done a lot of research on this, as a result of buying one!
Bear with me while i type it up!!
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:31 PM |
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Ive spoken to Art at Mullen Motor Co, and also the guy that has recently acquired the moulds for the Avelle kit.
Mullen makes claims (to me by phone) that the kit was shipped to the UK and 'Copied'. He asked me to send him some pictures, so i did and
heard nothing back from him at all. In fact, he sounded aggrieved that i had one of these "Copies" and was quite short IIRC.
The Avelle GTA was the UK manufactured kit, produced in Leicestershire (Or Northants, i forget which), but there were only a few made as far as i can
tell. The yellow one, theres a red one, and mine has sprung up somewhere along the line.
Mine is registered as an AGT Sports, and when i purchased it was told that it was a prototype for the kit later called the Avelle. I think mine was a
RHD conversion of the otherwise LHD Mullen M11. This explains why the wishbones look "Prototype" on mine, as does the bodywork / finish.
Its never seen a decent coat of paint on the body, so have been drying it out for the last 18m before i get round to finishing it.
The Avelle came with three engine combinations;
Renault with Transaxle (Turned out to be the 2.2 J7T engine which i removed)
Ford Duratec V6 (The latest version)
Plus another option i think , which escapes me for now.
There we go, lots of 'unclarified rumours' and mysterious background to look into, but as far as i can tell, mine is very unique in that
it shows signs of early design, such as the headlights, no rollover protection (currently), and the renault engine which i am in the process of
changing to the 2.0L J7R engine, and supercharger.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:33 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
Ive done a lot of research on this, as a result of buying one!
Bear with me while i type it up!!
Exactly four minutes after asking about a pretty rare one and I already have a reply from an owner! 
Don't rush it! It's just out of curiosity, although it would be nice to know if either company is on as of today, the car looks really
cool to me.
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:35 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alez
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
Ive done a lot of research on this, as a result of buying one!
Bear with me while i type it up!!
Exactly four minutes after asking about a pretty rare one and I already have a reply from an owner!
Don't rush it! It's just out of curiosity, although it would be nice to know if either company is on as of today, the car looks really
cool to me.
As far as im aware, im the only remaining owner of one in the UK???
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:39 PM |
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Amazing, thanks and congrats for your cool project!
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverythingThe Avelle came with three engine combinations;
Renault with Transaxle (Turned out to be the 2.2 J7T engine which i removed)
Ford Duratec V6 (The latest version)
Plus another option i think , which escapes me for now.
Hmm I would've thought the "V8" mention on the Mullen website meant it would be a longitudinally mounted V8 coupled to a transaxle,
is the "Renault + transaxle" a similar approach (longitudinal) but 4L? What about the V6, transverse with original FWD gearbox or
longitudinal + transaxle?
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:42 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alez
Amazing, thanks and congrats for your cool project!
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverythingThe Avelle came with three engine combinations;
Renault with Transaxle (Turned out to be the 2.2 J7T engine which i removed)
Ford Duratec V6 (The latest version)
Plus another option i think , which escapes me for now.
Hmm I would've thought the "V8" mention on the Mullen website meant it would be a longitudinally mounted V8 coupled to a transaxle,
is the "Renault + transaxle" a similar approach (longitudinal) but 4L? What about the V6, transverse with original FWD gearbox or
longitudinal + transaxle?
The V6 was transverse with the OE transmission, and the renault engine is longitudinal with UN1 OE Transmission.
I believe the V8 must be transverse (?) as there is limited room for pulleys, dampers and water pump at at the front of the engine bay. Ive looked
into that, and could have got a Cosworth V6 engine in quite comfortably, but not a V8.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverythingAs far as im aware, im the only remaining owner of one in the UK???
Right, so Avelle seems out of business but there's a little hope for a UK car in the shape of "a guy" who's bought the
moulds... I suppose there's a lot of chassis design to do until a set of moulds becomes a car so, one offs like yours aside, the car as such is
presently a USA one which is a shame because it's so cool, but makes your one very exclusive 
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:50 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alez
but makes your one very exclusive
Which makes it not the "Piece of poo money pit in the garage" that my missus says it is!
I came across mine rotting in a gloucestershire industrial unit, having had a theft attempt on it, and its wheels stolen! Still cost me a few quid
though!
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:54 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
The V6 was transverse with the OE transmission, and the renault engine is longitudinal with UN1 OE Transmission.
I believe the V8 must be transverse (?) as there is limited room for pulleys, dampers and water pump at at the front of the engine bay. Ive looked
into that, and could have got a Cosworth V6 engine in quite comfortably, but not a V8.
Understood, thanks
I wonder if the current Mullen chassis is any different then, since they seem to favour V8 engines and they state you can fit pretty much whatever V8
you fancy. Or maybe all of them are mounted transverse like you said.
The spec says it's a 2 meter wide car, that's very wide, 10 cm wider than my Ultima which can take pretty much any engine, so the limit
must be dictated by the length.
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 05:58 PM |
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Thats right, it is incredibly wide! I keep having problems with attracting Kerbs!
I think the UK chassis has changed a lot (Numbers on the website links above dont work) and i think incorprates roll over protection now. The V6
version used the original ford subframe as well i think, but i dont know a great deal about it.
A great little car though, with some clever design detail. Not for anyone over 5'10 though, as i struggle to sit in mine comfortably, and plan
to modify the roof at a later date.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 06:02 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
Which makes it not the "Piece of poo money pit in the garage" that my missus says it is!
I came across mine rotting in a gloucestershire industrial unit, having had a theft attempt on it, and its wheels stolen! Still cost me a few quid
though!
It's going to be utterly cool once on the road, and it will be nice to compare the pics as bought and once finished.
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 06:04 PM |
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Check out the blog;
BLOG: http://21toc.com/blog.php?1742-MakeEverything
There is a post on here somewhere as well with pictures when it arrived home.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 06:12 PM |
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Here;
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=118781
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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Alez
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| posted on 5/2/12 at 07:37 PM |
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Cool, cheers!
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