Wolfrace Sonic: Two Motors, Six Wheels, All for the Purpose of Advertising Discs

In the early 1980s, British company Wolfrace Wheels decided to take an unconventional approach to promoting its wheel rims. The result of a very bold move was the Wolfrace Sonic – car, which was impossible to pass by at any of the many exhibitions.


Two engines, six wheels and a futuristic design – all this made the Sonic stand out from other, even rather bold concepts of the time. Despite the fact that the car was not created for serial production, it forever secured a place of honor in the history of the automotive industry.

Origins of the concept

The idea for the Wolfrace Sonic came about in 1980. At that time, Wolfrace Wheels already had a solid reputation in the automotive industry. Including because it was the first in Europe to produce polished aluminum wheels.

By then, the company had supplied tyres for projects such as James Bond's famous Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me, released in 1977.


Wolfrace Wheels founder Barry Tracy wanted to build on the success he had gained from working closely with the film industry. Instead of using an existing car model as an advertising platform, he decided to go further and create a unique concept car. His goal was to attract the attention of as many people as possible.

To implement the project, Tracy turned to Nick Butler, a former aircraft engineer who had already switched to the topic of creating unique custom cars.

Butler already had a scale model of a futuristic car with two separate cockpits in stock. However, the concept needed some improvement: as part of the advertising strategy, they decided to increase the number of wheels to six - this would immediately distinguish the car from its analogues.

The Wolfrace Sonic was never intended to be a daily driver or a racing car. It was a rolling advertising platform. Despite this, the car turned out to be fully functional. transport, which was an additional achievement for its creators.

The project was initially designed to be as low-cost as possible in terms of design and production. The design used existing components: the suspension was taken from a Tyrrell P34, the brake system was borrowed from a Jaguar E-Type, and the power plant was a standard Rover V8.

Six wheels and two motors

The idea of ​​putting six wheels and two engines on a car was not entirely new, but in the case of the Wolfrace Sonic it was implemented in a unique way. The prototype was based on the design ideas used in the Tyrrell P34, the famous six-wheeled Formula 1 racing car.

Running system

Wolfrace Sonic has four front wheels with a diameter of 13 inches, made for increased stability and improved control. The rear two 15-inch wheels were driven. The tire parameters are 175/50 and 285/50, respectively. The tire model is Italian Pirelli P7.

The concept received independent front axles, each of which is equipped with a suspension on double triangular levers with springs and shock absorbers. The rear suspension is based on the Jaguar E-Type: there are independent levers, double shock absorbers and differentials.

Power point

As for the drive, two Rover V8 3.5 petrol engines with a capacity of 200 hp each were used. Instead of the classic scheme with one engine, the engineers decided to use two units operating in parallel, so they had to work hard on synchronization.


The power plant produced a total of 400 hp peak power at 5500 rpm. Both engines developed 400 Nm of torque. The engine was controlled by an electronic drive-by-wire system that regulated fuel supply and synchronized the speed.

Synchronization was achieved by magnetic sensors. They read the rotation speed of the crankshafts and transmitted the data to the computer. Electronics synchronized the operation of the internal combustion engine and thus evenly distributed the output power to both differentials.

According to the creators' calculations, the car accelerated from zero to 100 km/h in just 7 seconds and developed a maximum speed of 240 km/h. However, the complexity of the system led to increased wear of components, which greatly limited the car's capabilities in real-life conditions.

Body and design

The body of the Wolfrace Sonic was designed to impress the public as much as possible. Its appearance resembled a mixture of a futuristic sports car, a Formula 1 racing car and a fantasy concept from Hollywood movies.

The body was based on a steel space frame. The skin was made of fiberglass, a material that was often used to build experimental cars of the time due to its lightness and flexibility.


The dimensions of the body were 5194x1981x838 mm. Taking into account the "fins", the height reached 1194 mm. The distance between the rear and near front axles was 2540 mm. Interestingly, the drag coefficient was 0,30, which is quite good for a show car of this size.

The body design included many unusual elements that emphasized its status as a conceptual show car. These included:

✅ low profile and long bonnet create a dynamic silhouette
✅ dual cockpit for driver and passenger in aviation style
✅ expressive "fins" located on the rear of the body

The cockpit was a showcase of cutting-edge 1980s technology, with each of the two workstations featuring digital displays and control panels that seemed groundbreaking at the time.

Instead of the usual levers for selecting transmission modes, buttons were used, which once again emphasized the futuristic concept. Synchronization of the two cockpits was also adjusted: information and controls were duplicated for the driver and passenger.

Initially, the body was painted silver metallic. Later, for advertising shoots in Playboy magazine, the car was repainted red, which made it even more noticeable.

What happened next?

After its debut in the early 1980s, the Wolfrace Sonic had fulfilled its primary purpose. However, the show car's life after its exhibition career was no less interesting.

After 1982, the Sonic stopped appearing regularly on the show. At that point, the car had already covered 14000 kilometers, which was a significant achievement for such a complex project.


By the mid-1990s, the show car was in a far from ideal condition. The electronics had failed, the engines and transmissions required serious repairs, and the body had lost its former brightness. In this state, the Wolfrace Sonic ended up with another enthusiast owner, who also could not return it to its original condition. As a result, the car stood in the garage for many years.

In 2015, the car was sold for 18000 euros (about 1,9 million rubles) to another collector who decided to breathe new life into the Sonic. At the time of the last mention in open sources, the Wolfrace Sonic was in the process of restoration. It is not yet known what is happening to it now.