Photo: GTO Engineering
GTO Engineering is one of the best-known specialists in the Ferrari restoration business, and it looks like the business is going so well that they’ve decided to manufacture a car of their own.
Unsurprisingly with such a pedigree, the company’s first own product is not exactly a 100 percent original take on a sports car, but something that is clearly based, at least design wise, on the legendary Ferrari 250 GT SWB in Berlinetta Competizione spec.
A sensation in the 1960s, the 250 GT SWB in racing guise stacked up some spectacular motorsport victories the likes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, al while looking like it has been shaped by the hands of the God of Italian design.
For reasons likely related to copyright and Ferrari’s long arm of the law in such cases, GTO Engineering’s Squalo doesn’t use any Ferrari parts or emblems, and even the design is not a direct copy of the 250 GT SWB, but more of an homage.
And what an homage indeed, as the upcoming sports car will be an old-school creation in almost every sense, including the hand-built body, its naturally aspirated V12 engine and the manual transmission sending the yet unspecified power to the rear wheels.
Unlike the original Ferrari, which was powered by a marvelous iteration of the Colombo V12 with a displacement of 3.0 liters, the GTO Engineering Squalo will harness the naturally aspirated ponies of a quad-cam, 4.0-liter V12 that is expected to sounds like there is no tomorrow in a world of turbocharged and electrified engines.
There aren’t any official power figures so far, but its output won’t be as crucial, though, as the car is planned to weigh under 1,000 kgs (2,200 lbs).
Translating to ‘shark’ in Italian, the Squalo will also be a strictly three-pedal driving machine, with GTO Engineering having started a collaboration with Hewland. The result of the partnership is a five-speed transaxle gearbox, which houses a limited-slip differential, with the entire units estimated to weigh under 70 kg (154 lbs).
This would make it the world’s lightest gearbox in a production car, apart from being one of the most compact. The update follows the initial renderings and intentions for the new sports car, which was initially announced in November 2020.
If all goes to plan, first customer deliveries should happen in 2023, but until then we should get a taste of how the car looks like in the flesh and, most importantly, how that quad-cam V12 without any forced induction actually sounds.
A sensation in the 1960s, the 250 GT SWB in racing guise stacked up some spectacular motorsport victories the likes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, al while looking like it has been shaped by the hands of the God of Italian design.
For reasons likely related to copyright and Ferrari’s long arm of the law in such cases, GTO Engineering’s Squalo doesn’t use any Ferrari parts or emblems, and even the design is not a direct copy of the 250 GT SWB, but more of an homage.
And what an homage indeed, as the upcoming sports car will be an old-school creation in almost every sense, including the hand-built body, its naturally aspirated V12 engine and the manual transmission sending the yet unspecified power to the rear wheels.
Unlike the original Ferrari, which was powered by a marvelous iteration of the Colombo V12 with a displacement of 3.0 liters, the GTO Engineering Squalo will harness the naturally aspirated ponies of a quad-cam, 4.0-liter V12 that is expected to sounds like there is no tomorrow in a world of turbocharged and electrified engines.
There aren’t any official power figures so far, but its output won’t be as crucial, though, as the car is planned to weigh under 1,000 kgs (2,200 lbs).
Translating to ‘shark’ in Italian, the Squalo will also be a strictly three-pedal driving machine, with GTO Engineering having started a collaboration with Hewland. The result of the partnership is a five-speed transaxle gearbox, which houses a limited-slip differential, with the entire units estimated to weigh under 70 kg (154 lbs).
This would make it the world’s lightest gearbox in a production car, apart from being one of the most compact. The update follows the initial renderings and intentions for the new sports car, which was initially announced in November 2020.
If all goes to plan, first customer deliveries should happen in 2023, but until then we should get a taste of how the car looks like in the flesh and, most importantly, how that quad-cam V12 without any forced induction actually sounds.
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