The two brothers who developed the Half11—a Chevy V8-powered, vaguely Porsche-shaped track car—are back with an even crazier idea. Nikita and Iliya Bridan are the brains behind Oilstainlab and the new HF-11 is slated to be their first-ever production car. In short, it’s a doozy. The topline details include a 2,000-pound curb weight, up to 860 horsepower, and get this, hot-swappable powertrains. It’s ambitious but if they can pull it off, it’ll be a riot.
Where the Half11 looked like a track car that was assembled in a paddock by a couple of buddies, the HF-11 looks like a more formidable supercar—as it should given the $2.35 million asking price. Its design shows the sort of purposeful restraint that would make Gordon Murray proud and it’s refreshing to see in an era of obnoxiously designed electric hypercars. Murray would also appreciate the attention to lightweight materials.
The Bridan brothers’ target curb weight for the car was 2,000 pounds. With a carbon fiber tub made by the same people responsible for the Ford GT’s, Docol R8 high-strength steel subframes, and composite body panels, it should hit that figure. It’s only 171 inches long, the same as a 993 Porsche and only a few inches longer than a Subaru BRZ, so its compact size contributes to its shockingly low curb weight. Even the switches inside the cabin are sourced from Formula 1 suppliers.
The HF-11 gets around 650 ponies from a 4.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-six, built by an outside party that isn’t Porsche. The engine revs to a GMA T.50-like 12,000 RPM, and it comes with a six-speed manual and rear-wheel drive. There’s also an electric version with 860 horsepower, and the crazy thing is you don’t have to choose which one to buy. Oilstainlab designed the HF-11 to accept them both, and you can switch between them as you please.
When you buy the car at its full $2.35 million price tag, you get the gas and electric powertrains. According to Nikita Bridan, the swap is accomplished by switching the entire rear subframe, as he was inspired by Audi doing a similar job at the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans. If you don’t want the electric option at all, that’s OK. Oilstainlab will shave $500,000 off the price tag in that case.
The HF-11 uses inboard pushrod suspension at all four corners with custom Ohlins adjustable dampers, and the steering setup is what they’re calling manual with an E-assist. That means there’s electric power steering when you want it and a fully manual steering mode for when you don’t. And like a race car, the steering wheel has a quick-release mechanism.
Despite its hardcore, lightweight, race car-like nature, the HF-11 is said to be roadworthy. It comes with Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tires—aggressive but street legal—air conditioning, and a backup camera. It might be more extreme than most roads can handle but that apparently won’t stop it from cruising the two-lane blacktop if it reaches production.
Oilstainlab is being incredibly selective about who can buy its cars, and it’s calling the first 11 customers “Maniacs.” These people will sign on to buy the car and be part of their vehicle’s final tuning and developmental processes. There are supposedly six people who want Maniac status right now, so the company is looking for five more.
Hopefully, the HF-11 actually becomes a production car and Oilstainlab can produce and sell all 25. While anything costing this much isn’t in the cards for most of us, knowing there are 12,000-rpm, flat-six-powered, 2,000-pound supercars running around will make the world a better place. For the rest of us, we can experience the HF-11 in this hilarious low-res video game.
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