Garage

Development mules for aadhar.sh: deliberately rough rigs where I run a tool or an idea under real load before any of it touches the production car. Some graduate to the homepage, some get scrapped (and stay parked here as data points), some still sit on the dyno. Most run live, so poke around.

Carmakers learn the good cars on mules first: McLaren developed the F1 in two Ultima kit cars nicknamed Albert and Edward; the mid-engine Corvette hid its chassis under the bones of a Holden HSV ute (and came out better-looking than the real C8). A few more in the hall of fame below. Same spirit here, fewer cones.

Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 development mule, an Ultima GTR nicknamed George
GMA developed the T.50, the F1's spiritual heir, in Ultima GTR mules, this one nicknamed George. (Murray ran the same play on the F1: Albert & Edward.) Photo Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Saab 99 test mule the Paddan, beside a regular Saab 96
Saab's 99 mule, the Paddan ("toad"): Saab grafted the new car's body onto a 96 (right) so it could test on public roads without tipping the design. Photo Jelger Groeneveld, CC BY 2.0.
The mule hall of fame: nine that hid in plain sight
  1. HSV 'Corvette': the mid-engine C8's chassis wrapped in the bones of a Holden HSV ute. Accidentally better-looking than the real C8.
  2. McLaren F1, 'Albert' & 'Edward': two Ultima kit cars. Albert ran a Chevy V8 to mimic the BMW V12's torque, Edward bedded in the real V12. Both crushed afterward. Murray rebooted the trick for the T.50, an Ultima called George.
  3. Lotus Esprit '458': Lotus reportedly bolted its homegrown V8 into a salvaged Ferrari 458 and prowled Norfolk in it, until the company canned the project.
  4. Ferrari 348 'Enzo': a 348 stretched 250mm to swallow the Enzo's 6.5-litre V12. A proper Franken-rarri.
  5. Rolls-Royce Phantom 'high-rider': Rolls honed the Cullinan SUV inside a jacked-up, shortened Phantom, a rear wing loading the suspension to dial in spring and damper rates.
  6. MG Maestro Freelander: Land Rover hid the Freelander under a tall MG Maestro van. One survives at the Dunsfold Collection.
  7. Porsche 918 Spyder: a naked 918 powertrain mule wearing 991-era 911 panels; Porsche let journalists ride it at Nardo. (918 units, production from 9/18.)
  8. Jaguar XJ220 'van': Jaguar plumbed 542bhp into a Ford Transit's load bay. Nobody suspects a white van.
  9. Lamborghini Countach Evoluzione: a carbon/Kevlar Countach that Lamborghini crashed once the autoclave got too dear. Its young engineer left to start his own marque: Horacio Pagani.

Lore via Top Gear, "Nine weird secret test mules" (Ollie Kew). The two photos above are the only ones in the set that exist under a free license; the rest are best enjoyed at the source.

More to come. Mules that graduate get the shipped tag; the ones that don't stay parked here tagged rejected. Scrapping a rig still leaves a data point; I never delete one. A motor pool, not a highlight reel.