WEC: Perrinn seeks investment for LMP1

Fledgling British constructor Perrinn Limited is aiming to sell equity in the company in order to raise the funds to put its LMP1 design on the racetrack.

Owner Nicolas Perrin is looking for 2million for a 30 per cent stake in order to build the four-wheel-drive Perrinn LMP1, which was first announced in May 2013, and then undertake initial testing of the car.

"I need to stop just talking about it and build a running car now," said Perrin. "There are people who are really interested in racing the car in the World Endurance Championship, but they want to see it up and running first."

Perrin, who has added an extra 'n' to his surname to create his brand, believes raising $3 million with a sale of equity is a realistic target.

"I believe this is very attractive proposition because we are still a start-up company and this is a good moment for someone to get involved for a relatively small investment," he said.

A crowdfunding plan aimed at raising the finance to build the LMP1 has now been abandoned.

Yorkshire-based Perrinn plans to use the normally-aspirated 4.4-liter Judd DBV8 under development at Engine Developments and its own kinetic energy-recovery system.

"It will be a bespoke KERS system with a battery energy-storage system that will involve buying many of the components and then putting them together ourselves," explained Perrin.

The car would definitely have a front-axle KERS and, most likely, a Toyota-style second system on the rear axle if the 870kg weight target for the car could be met. He revealed that the target was to get the Perrinn up and running by next summer.

"We want to go to Silverstone and run for a couple of weeks before we do a performance test in front of the media to prove the potential of our car," he said. "We want to show that as an independent organization we can design and build a competitive four-wheel-drive hybrid P1 car."