Is it a Ferrari? A Lotus, perhaps? In fact, it's a Genesis - a 130mph supercar built in Bradford.

Tim Pell, the man who designed and built it at his workshop in Bowling, has only built three so far.

But he's hoping production will pick up as quickly as the car which can reach 60mph in under six seconds - on a par with Porsches and Ferraris.

Mr Pell, who runs Pell Automotive in Essex Street, just off Wakefield Road, is hoping to attract orders for the £12,000 two-seater to boost employment in the city whose most famous motor car was the fondly remembered Jowett.

It isn't the most practical car - getting in and out is an art-form and the lack of a roof is a problem in rainy Yorkshire - but it turns heads wherever it goes.

Mr Pell, who has sold one and still owns the other two, hopes it will rival compact coupes such as Lotus Elise and Renault Spider. He said: "If it did take off then we would concentrate on building the car full time. At the moment it is almost like a hobby, but we are dedicated to making it work."

The car's name was taken, oddly enough, from a piece of welding equipment.

"We just saw the name and thought that it sounded right," he said. The idea for the mid-engined car without doors - access is over the side - arose four years ago.

"It was just something we thought we could do and then we built a model and it just took off from there," he said.

Mr Pell said the vehicle, which took a total of 200 hours to build with his father and brother, would be of interest to car enthusiasts.

Anyone interested in buying one could have it built to specification.

He added: "At the moment the car has no roof, but a lot of people have said they'd want one.

"We have had a lot of inquiries, even from as far away as Japan, but we have only sold one car so far and we obviously want to sell a lot more."

Anyone wanting more details about the Genesis should call (01274) 307444.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.