2006
Bizzarrini GTS 4.1 V Ghepardo Concept
Although
the new car dwarved the 5300 GT next to it, there were a number of design cues
shared by the two. One of the original Bizzarrini's most typical feature was
the location of the Chevrolet V8, which was so far back in the chassis that the
coils had to be accessed through panels in the dashboard. True to the original,
the new car's engine was in a similar location, but now of German origin. It
was an Alpina tweaked BMW powerplant, which was mated to a six speed automated
gear box. It was estimated to be capable of a 360 km/h top speed and sub four
seconds 0-60 times.
At
the time the VGM Motors representitive indicated production could start early
in 2006, but after the Geneva Show we heard nothing from the Italian company
for well over a year. That was until the 2006 Villa d'Este concours d'elegance
when a ferocious sounding Bizzarrini was driven through the Villa Erba park
followed by a much more civilized sounding 5300 GT. It was hard to say if it
was intentional, but the car seemed unable to manouvre without shredding up the
grass. Obviously the year of silence was used to carry through some major
modifications.
The
Alpina engine was replaced by a slightly modified version of Mecachrome's all
aluminium V8 engine. Enlarged to 4.1 litre the racing car derived engine was
good for 550 bhp at a stunning 10,000 rpm. All this power is transferred to the
rear wheels through a six speed transaxle also cast from aluminium. We were
told the engineers managed to keep the weight down to 1100 kg by the extensive
use of aluminium and other exotic materials. This time round a timeframe for
production was not mentioned, but development work seems ongoing.
In
its current configuration, the 'Ghepardo' as it was referred to, is still
considerably larger than the original, but at least its light weight and
incredible engine will catch many enthusiasts' interest.
Source
: ultimatecarpage.com
