Italian car manufacturer Isotta Fraschini is set for an extraordinary return and aims to compete in the 2023 Le Mans Hypercar class.
Isotta Fraschini was founded in Milan in
1900 and effectively died off in the 1940s. An attempt was made to revive it in
the 1990s but it failed. Now, it is being relaunched once again and has
previewed its upcoming LMH competitor that will complete against cars from
Toyota, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Ferrari, as well as those
from the LMDh class such as Lamborghini, Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and
Alpine.
It is understood the new hypercar will be
launched with a 3.0-liter V6 with a pair of turbochargers and a hybrid system.
It should pump out a maximum of 680 PS (671 hp) to comply with racing
regulations while the chassis and bodywork will be made from carbon fiber and
other lightweight composite materials. It is understood that the engine powers
the rear wheels while the electric motor drives the front wheels. A seven-speed
sequential transmission is also expected.
The Italian firm’s revival is being led by
Colombian businessman Frank Kanayet Yepes and has already inked partnerships
with Pankl, Bosch, Williams, Multimatic, Brembo, and PWR. Indeed, a lot of the
car’s aerodynamic development has taken place in the Williams wind tunnel.
Autosport says that Isotta Fraschini wants
to follow up its Le Mans competitor with a road-legal, two-seat hypercar
developed out of the race car, as well as a line of other production models.