While electrification plays a massive role in the modern hypercar, with even Bugatti trading turbos for electrons in the Tourbillon’s blast toward 300 miles per hour, there is still a place for the all-combustion beast. Room for small players to use amazing modern technology to deliver levels of performance that would have been unimaginable even 10 years ago. Giamaro Automobili is the latest to try and fill that space, and it is doing it by building a car with well over 2,000 horsepower fueled purely by gasoline.
More Gas Horsepower Than Anything Else In Production
The car is called the Katla, and it’s named after a volcano in Iceland. Like an Icelandic volcano, it promises to erupt. Instead of seismic forces under the earth, this one is caused by seismic forces under the carbon fiber engine cover. A quad-turbo V12 engine that displaces 7.0 liters. The promise: 2,127 horsepower in its most extreme configuration, with 1,481 lb-ft of torque. That’s a level of horsepower that puts it second to nothing else powered exclusively by gas. Only the 2,300-horsepower Koenigsegg Gemera can beat it for being the highest-power production car, and 1,000 of its ponies come from electric motors.
Giamaro is based in Modena, Italy. A prime starting place when you’re looking to develop a new supercar, because it’s where Italian performance has come to life for generations. The company was founded by the father-son team of Giacomo and Pierfrancesco Commendatore. The former has a deep boutique hypercar connection already, as one of the original investors who helped Horacio Pagani bring his cars to the world.
The company’s engine is an ultra-wide vee. At 120 degrees between the banks, it delivers a lower center of gravity and a lower body. The wide vee leaves plenty of room for the four hot vee-mounted turbos, helping narrow the engine despite the near-flat angles.
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Even the gearbox is extreme. No, it’s not a clutch-operated manual like the Hennessey Venom F5-M, but Giamaro is planning on using an 11-speed dual-clutch transmission. Until it’s ready, a seven-speed automated manual with a limited-slip differential will be used.
Incredibly Light, Complex, And Capable
A lack of electrification, along with its carbon fiber construction, helps keep the car incredibly light. It’s just 3,200 pounds, with only 375 pounds of that attributed to the chassis.
Both ends of the car use an inboard-mounted pushrod suspension. It lies flat for more travel with less height, and it has electronically-adjustable dampers that operate in real-time. Even the ride height is adjusted automatically to deliver a balance between usability and aero performance.
With that suspension and some wonderfully intricate exhaust routing, the bare chassis is a work of art. The bodywork, though, is the Italian stunner that we all crave. Supercar styling without looking like just another generic exotic is impressive. Even more impressive is the active rear wing, which can adjust both its height and angle for optimal downforce when needed, speed when that is demanded, and to become an airbrake when that’s what’s required.
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Giamaro hopes to build a couple of dozen of these cars per year, and wants each one to be different. Is there a market? Just ask Pagani, which continues to sell out its own ultra-exclusive offerings year after year.
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