Besides stunning classic cars such as the 1937 Alfa
Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta Touring, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este also
hosts concept cars and prototypes on the shores of Lake Como. This year, the event marked the
world premiere of an intriguing concept: the Austro Daimler Bergmeister ADR 630
Shooting Grand. Created by a company called Projekt Austro Daimler, it is an
attempt at reviving a long-dead brand.
Austro Daimler was an Austrian automaker that was
operational between 1899 and 1934 as a subsidiary of Germany’s Daimler Motoren
Gesellschaft (DMG). Given the connection to the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, it is
not that surprising that the Bergmeister (German for “Hillclimb Champion”)
features gullwing doors. Actually, the door handles are taken straight from the
Mercedes SLS AMG.
Those are not the only Mercedes-sourced components,
though. The 3.0-liter inline turbocharged six-cylinder gasoline engine comes
from the AMG GT 43 4-Door Coupe, while the windshield and suspension are
sourced from the AMG GT.
The Bergmeister ADR 630 Shooting Grand is built on a bespoke aluminum chassis
and the bodywork is a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber for a perfect
50:50 weight distribution. The concept is 4,544-mm long, 2,087-mm wide and 1,331-mm high and sports a wheelbase of 2,637 mm; the result is a shooting brake body style with dramatic
proportions. Besides the gullwing doors, design highlights include a very long
bonnet, sleek LED headlights and taillights, as well as a panoramic rear
window.
The design and engineering team led by Roland Stagl
wanted to build a modern grand tourer that could be considered a spiritual heir
to the legendary Austro-Daimler vehicles. There are certainly some retro design
cues on the car, including the original brand logo, double-bubble roof, and the
lavish cockpit combining wood and leather trim, but overall the Bergmeister
looks very contemporary.
The powertrain definitely comes from this century.
The Mercedes-sourced engine is paired with no less than three electric motors
that produce 805 HP and combined with the straight-six, the EV
hypercar puts out a grand total of 1,182 hp and 1,600 Nm of torque.
A 55 kWh battery, which is designed to support
150-kW charging, is located in front of the rear axle and feeds enough energy
to the motors to enable an EV driving range of 250 kilometers. The
beauty of this setup is that when the battery runs out of juice, the car can
still cover an additional 750 km using the power of gasoline. Unsurprisingly, the powerful plug-in hybrid
powertrain gives the 1,650 kg Bergmeister stellar performance. The
claimed 0-100 km/h time is 2.5 seconds and top speed stands at 330
km/h.
Apparently, the first Bergmeister has already been sold, but
Projekt Austro Daimler wants to build several more examples. The Austro Daimler Burgmeister
lost the design award at the Concorso d’Eleganza to Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire
but, unlike the bespoke hypercar, might not remain just a one-off — or at least
that’s what the team behind it is aiming for.
