The era of the 300mph
supercar may soon be upon us. Or it might not. It depends if you're on board
with astonishing claims of Dubai-based motor company Devel.
After teasing the
petrol-head community for years with a concept, Devel launched an updated
prototype of Sixteen, its eye-wateringly powerful hypercar, at the Dubai
International Motor Show 2017.
Its creators say
Sixteen will hit 300mph when it begins testing -- enough to grab the title of
world's fastest car and drive off into the horizon with it. If all the bluster
turns out to be true, it could represent the kind of leap not seen since the
Bugatti Veyron landed in 2005.
Much of the skepticism
surrounds the Sixteen's reported 5,000 brake horsepower (bhp) engine. To put it
in context, the Koenigsegg Agera RS -- 277.9mph world record holder as of
November 2017 -- has a paltry 1,360bhp, while competitor and (unverified)
claimant to the 300mph throne, the Hennessey Venom F5, has a 1,600bhp 7.4
liter, twin-turbocharged V8.
But thanks to Devel
subcontractor Steve Morris
Engines (SME), we have evidence that this hot rod is more than
just an exercise in wishful thinking. On November 3, the Michigan-based
manufacturer released a video purporting to show the Sixteen's colossal 12.3
liter, V16 quad-turbo engine producing a whopping 5,007bhp on a company dynamometer. How it will function on the
track remains to be seen, however.
SME joins Italian
motorsports house Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) in steering the
Sixteen into production. The latter specializes in one-off builds, and is
responsible for the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus' SCG003S and the Ferrari P4/5
by Pininfaina in recent years. MAT CEO Paolo Garella talks about the Devel
potentially surpassing 500kmph (approx. 310mph) in promotional material, and admits with a smile that "we
are completely crazy."
A production version
of the Devel Sixteen concept on show in Dubai this week.
Speaking from the
Dubai Motor Show, Devel developer Rashid Al-Attari told OLIVERSMILE he expects
the car to be completed "in the next 12-18 months," including
testing.
There is still a
question marks over the tires, he adds, saying that with the correct set the Sixteen
"should" cross the 300mph threshold. Street legal tires have yet to
be manufactured that can handle such speeds -- for similar reasons, the Bugatti
Chiron has not yet reached its potential top speed, rumored to also be in
the 300mph region. Al-Attari explains Devel is currently considering two tire
manufacturers, but is unable to disclose their names.
On a note that will
disappoint only ultra-high net-worth petrolheads, Al-Attari admits that the
5,000bhp Sixteen will not be street legal, describing it as "more of a
dragster." However, he revealed Devel is working on two road legal
versions of the Sixteen: A V8 with 2,000bhp and a V16 quad-turbo with 3,000bhp.
Their projected top speeds are as yet unknown.
Prices for the V8 will
start at $1.6m, and the V16, $1.8m, according to the Devel developer, adding
that he has no plans to limit the production run of the supercar.
When asked about what
he required from his supercar, the wealthy developer told OLIVERSMILE he
"wanted the horsepower and a car that is really spacious" -- the
latter not normally a hallmark of record-breaking speedsters.
We'll find out whether
Devel has delivered on both counts in the near future, if the company's
timeline holds true. But we won't find out in Dubai, says Al-Attari. He's set
his sights further afield for the launch of the first fully-functional model:
"the US, the UK, Germany... it could be anywhere."
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