The Lucra LC470 Is The Most Incredible American Sports Car Everyone Forgot About

No one would fault you for never hearing of the Lucra LC470. Only the most die-hard gearheads (or faithful fans of the "Fast and Furious" franchise) are likely to know anything about this one-off, hand-built beast from Lucra Cars in San Marcos, California. Only 63 are estimated to exist, according to Mecum Auctions, with three of those made specifically for "Fast & Furious 6" (via autoevolution).

Founder Luke Richards was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, England to an American mother and a British father, the latter of whom was a fan of Lotus Cars (per Top Gear). Growing up, his mixed heritage meant he was exposed to the nimble racers found in Europe as well as Detroit's muscle. According to MotorTrend, Richards' father once told him, "you can either have a car that is fast in the corners or have the power to go fast in the straightaways, but you can't have a fast car that is also really lightweight." Richards wanted to prove his dad wrong and build a car that had it all.

Lucra Cars was founded in 2005 and started as a garage that refurbished Land Rover Defenders, a far different vehicle from the car that Richards wanted to make. When Lucra unveiled the first LC470, it astonished the public because it weighed just under 2,000 pounds, so it was lighter than the Lotuses that his father adored, but had the massive GM LS series V-8 engine under the hood that Richards wanted.

The LC470 had three different V8s available (via designboom): a 6.3L AMG, a 6.3L LS3, and a 7.0L GM LS7. The LS7 has cold-air induction, a FAST LSX 102 intake, CNC-ported heads, custom side exhaust with headers, and Magnaflow mufflers, mated to a manual Tremec TR600 5-speed gearbox, according to Mecum Auctions. The LS7 provides 630 horsepower, goes from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds, blisters the quarter mile in 9.1 seconds (at 149 mph), and has a top speed somewhere around 200mph, reports TopSpeed. The body is one solid piece made of carbon fiber and bonded to the laser-cut chassis, which weighs 280 pounds, according to Top Gear.

In addition to the powerful internals and precisely-made exterior, weight distribution is a high priority. The engine is offset 1.25 inches to the passenger's side to balance things out when the car is driven solo during races. The LC470 is slightly tail-heavy, sitting at a 53% weight ratio compared to a 47% front end, so it's as close to a 50/50 weight distribution as possible.

When it was released in 2013, the base MSRP for a 470LC SC was $118,000. However, a 2019 C470 #62 sold for $65,000 at Mecum's Indy 2020 auction. Another 2019 model sold for $72,800 at Worldwide Auctioneers in 2021, and a 2018 model has an asking price of $150,000 on a Hemmings classified listing.