1993–2002 Ultima Spyder Specs & Performance

The Ultima Spyder brought the marque’s lightweight, mid-engined concept into open-air motoring. Its compact roadster body, rear-wheel-drive layout and double-wishbone suspension retained the purposeful engineering of the closed-roof Ultima Sports, while the exposed cockpit gave the car a more direct, elemental character. It was not launched with just one fixed powertrain: Ultima’s own history records an initial Rover V8 configuration before customer demand led to the adoption of Chevrolet V8 power.

For the 1993–2002 model range, the later 5.7-litre General Motors LT1 specification is listed with 355 hp and 405 lb·ft of torque. A five-speed manual gearbox drives the rear wheels, and the lightweight 1,984-pound roadster is credited with a 3.8-second 0–60 mph time. Its 175 mph claimed top speed makes this open Ultima a serious performance machine, not simply a roofless version of a kit-car sports car.