Will This New Chassis Bring Back Coach-Built Sports Cars?

Dash, a British engineering firm that has developed Formula One cars, launched a division called Bespoke whose aim is to help carmakers design a vehicle from start to finish. The brand has already wrapped up its first project: It’s a platform called the Dash Bespoke Slipstream, and the business case takes a page from the coach-built cars of yore.

The foundation already existed: Dash developed the Slipstream platform as an evolution of a carbon fiber monocoque called TR01 that it finished in 2023. It’s relatively light and stiff, it complies with European safety norms, and it’s modular enough to underpin a selection of supercar and hypercar designs. Dash then made the modifications required to install a mid-mounted V-8 developed by Hartley in New Zealand.

The end result is a rolling chassis. The Slipstream was designed for a customer, so it will sooner or later hit the road, the track, or both, but what the finished product will look like hasn’t been revealed. We don’t know who commissioned the project, though we’re hoping to learn more in the next few months. And, regardless, we like the idea of a sports car with a carbon fiber monocoque and a mid-mounted V-8.

Dash will present the Slipstream platform to the public on July 10, 2025, at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed. We’ll need to be patient to find out what’s next, but the brand could play a role in resurrecting the coachbuilding industry (and help bring cool cars to the market) if its Bespoke division catches on.

Coachbuilding still exists, but it’s largely done in-house. Several high-end manufacturers operate divisions dedicated to building one- and few-off cars. Bugatti will build you a one-of-a-kind model if you’re willing to pay for it; Rolls-Royce offers the same service, too, and BMW is open to it as well. Dash’s proposition is unique in that it’s closer to the type of coachbuilding that was common a century ago. It delivers a turn-key chassis, and a third party that it has no affiliation with puts a body on it. It’s probably far from cheap, but it should allow companies that are small, young, or both to fast-track niche sports car projects.