As a design portfolio goes, it's difficult to argue with the man who drew up the Ford Mustang, Focus RS and S-Max.

That man is David Hilton, and this is his latest project: a British-built supercar called the MC1.

MC stands for Motorcity - that's Hilton's German-based design studio, which has scribbled a bunch of Ford's current stable.

Now Motorcity has teamed up with Bedfordshire-based engineering firm C2P, which is working on the development of the stunning MC1.

Details remain sketchy, but we know that the MC1 will be powered by a mid-mounted V10 developing some 600bhp.

About the same length and width as a Ferrari F430, it sits on 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels and features the supercar-staple scissor doors. Hilton says he hopes to launch the production version of the MC1 by 2011.

"I wanted to demonstrate that, in a short time, one designer can create and build a fresh design which is still possible for street development," says Hilton. "This has helped immensely in order to quickly sell the concept under limited budget constraints."

We can't argue with the 'fresh design' bit - with its twin central exhausts and astonishing rear aero, the MC1 is a stunning concept.

And yes, we know we shouldn't get too excited about British supercar concepts that promise the world and, inevitably, disappear quietly into the ether. But we can't help ourselves. If Christmas is a time for miracles, mid-January should be the time for snowballs to sail cheerily through Hades. Please.