SHOPPERS were met with a jaw-dropping sight in Bolton at the weekend — a supercar designed to break the land speed record.

The orange car, dubbed The Bolt, and built by Bolton-based Keating Supercars, was on display in the Market Place on Saturday and revved up interest among visitors and car fanatics.

A souped-up prototype of the supercar will attempt to break the world speed record for production cars at Ras al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

It will aim to smash the 300mph barrier — hoping to reach 340mph. The record is currently held by a Bugatti Veyron at 268mph.

The Bolt has already attracted the interest of motor manufacturers from around the world and it is envisaged that it will go on sale next year.

Chief executive Tony Keating is a graduate from the University of Bolton and will be donating the first Bolt off the production line to the university’s Centre for Advanced Performance Engineering (CAPE).

Tony, aged 41, from Bolton, who has invested millions in the project, said: “The Bolt would achieve 0 to 60mph in two seconds and travel faster than any car in history.”

Shopper Anthony Jellas, aged 75, from Wigan, said: “Now that’s a nice job of a car. I’m not sure I’d want to drive it myself. I think it would be a bit too fast for me.”

Steve Dougill, aged 39, from Astley Bridge, said: “It’s a nice car and I think the colour makes it stand out, but you wouldn’t be able to park it anywhere in Bolton. You’d be too worried about it getting scratched.

“It’s not the sort of car I’d want to own myself but I’m more of a truck man — they’re safer.”

Keith Holmes, a senior lecturer at the university, was on hand to explain to onlookers how the supercar worked. He added: “Most people wanted to know how much a car like this would cost and how fast it could go.”