Manor partnered up with Wirth Research company after securing their slot on the 2010 grid and, Wirth has expressed confidence in the progress made by the team so far.
'We are already assembling components on a mock-up chassis, the first real chassis is being built and should be ready in four or five weeks' time,' Wirth told Autosprint magazine.
'I'm very satisfied with the way crash tests are going and therefore I predict that the first car will be able to start running on the track at the beginning of February.'
Wirth said that he believes the changes to the regulations next year will give the team an opportunity to quickly gain ground on the front-runners.
'We'll start from the back but we hope to be in front of the other new teams, then we'll begin to put pressure on the consolidated teams,' Wirth said.
'The new regulations this year have mixed things up compared to 2008 and next year the rules will again be very different, and will require cars just as different; particularly with regards to the larger fuel tanks, heavier weight, tyres and aerodynamics.
'This set of changes should not be underestimated because it means there will still be room for surprises.
'If the 2010 rules were the same as this year, I would have been very worried, instead I'm a lot less so.'
Wirth stated that the initial car will have been designed and built without using a wind tunnel.
'We use no wind tunnels,' said Wirth.
'We are developing the aerodynamics completely on the computer with the CDF system.
'We won't do even one day in the wind tunnel, not even for a check.'
Manor is expected to confirm its commercial deal with Virgin in November and the team has said that an announcement regarding their 2010 driver line-up will follow shortly after.
'We'll soon announce our commercial partner and, I think, also the drivers, since many have shown sizable interest in doing a programme with our team,' said Wirth.
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