The absolutely mad(ly awesome) Trident Iceni has been around for a few years now in the United Kingdom, terrifying countrysides and giving owners pleasure with its 6.6-liter truck diesel stuffed under the hood. But that's how it's always been. Europe gets the crazy things, and the US is left out in the non-crazy cold. Until now.
That's because the perfectly nuts Iceni, with its big diesel all wrapped up in that gorgeous body, is now "globally available," and just to make sure we weren't playing with that old tome of "oh yeah, by 'globally available,' we mean everywhere on the globe except America, because who buys a car over there?" I went and called Trident and confirmed it.
So yes, your diesel, manual-transmission sports car will be available in the United States. Oh, and did I mention that it's available as a hatchback?
This drawing is the only image we have so far, but I was assured by Phil Bevan, the company founder and co-owner, that it is going into production.
This is, potentially, the most Jalop car ever built. The holy grail. I'll say it again, a diesel, manual, shooting brake, available in America.
Today, my brothers and sisters, God has smiled upon us.
And because no cake is complete without a cherry on top, the Trident Iceni Venturer (that's the shooting brake version) will also be joined by the Trident Iceni Magna, a coupe with a sleek, sloping fastback roof.
Bevan confirmed that the Iceni is currently undergoing EPA testing, and should be available soon. There's no word on pricing the US yet, but you should expect similar prices to what's seen in the UK. Over there, it starts at around £96,000 or about $120,000 and goes up depending on what specs you want.
And the specs are massive.
That base version sports 395 horsepower, and 700 pound-feet of torque, which is already a pretty nuts power figure in the bachelor's sports-mobile world. It'll rocket you to 60 MPH in 3.7 seconds, and onto a top speed of 190 MPH. The engine rumbles barely above idle at highway speeds, cruising at just 980 RPM, enabling a range of over 2000 miles on a tank, according to the company, running on anything from regular diesel to bio-diesel.
That is definitely impressive in any setting, but it pales in comparison to the monster that is the Track Pack.
Get on your big boy pants, because that line between the realms of hell-fearing men and those who instead deem it appropriate to spend their time licking windows is about to be crossed.
The Trident Iceni, with the £30,875 Track Pack, puts out 660 horsepower and 1050 pound-feet of torque. Presumably, it's called the "Track Pack" because the tires will be literally just eating up and spitting pieces of the track out the back. Or, eating themselves.
Of course, there are still levels in between those two extremes, if one is just a bit lukewarm and one speaks to you with the sound of a volcano in action, and volcanoes are dangerous, don't you know.
But there are rumors of more powerful versions in the works as well, though how those will be driveable, I don't really know. But then again, I don't really care. I just want them.
Please, Trident, make this car happen.
And please, America, do your part. Buy these cars. Buy all of these cars.
Fisker, you should've used our idea first.
Photos credit: Trident