Friday 20th November 2015

The Gabura V8i is a BMW-based hypercar

Take a carbon monotub, add a lightweight 800hp V8 and sell it for £560,000

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It's the hypercar dream, and something the Munich-based Gabura Racing Technologies has started to make into reality.

Just in case you didn't look at the pictures first, you might notice a certain i8-ness about the whole thing. That because Gabura bought a whole, brand-new i8 and took a disc-cutter to it. Hence the name; V8i.

No more electric motors, no more batteries. The hybrid drivetrain is history, replaced by a tuned-up, dry-sumped version of the BMW M-division S63 motor you'd normally find in an M6... and yes, that means Gabura have hacked up a perfectly serviceable M6 as well as the i8.

With a new intake, more cooling, a dry sump and some other trickery Gabura are claiming an 'easy' extra 200hp from the lump. Which gives us a claimed 800hp.

Unlike other hypercars in this power-to-weight bracket, the Gabura will carry its motor in the front. The firm have used their motorsports experience to fabricate two completely new subframes, attaching them to BMW's existing carbon body. The gearbox, designed and manufactured in house, is a transaxle six-speed sequential that will sit just in front of the rear axle.

We spoke to Andras Pecsenye, Chief Technologies Officer at Gabura, at the Professional Motorsports World Expo in Cologne.

"It's an extraordinary project," he grinned. "We're turning the i8 upside-down. And we're also planning a full race-car version too, though you can expect the price of that model to break through the 1m euro mark."

Gabura are offering the V8i on an individual basis. Andras expects this prototype to be ready "sometime in 2016".

What do you think? Discount German P1? Or environment-wrecking i8?

Watch the teaser here.

 

[LukeDM]

This should be good! Cool video too

[AdamAJP]

Sounds very interesting, if expensive.

The video is intriguing - like someone's fantasy project...

[smithyithy]

Very interesting

[Ryvita]

In that black and white livery it looks to me like a killer whale... which I like.

Not really that sure about the concept though... surely a franken-car like this can't really compete with something designed from scratch? yes, it will probably be very quick in a straight line but making something that was originally rear engine with a tiny light hybrid suddenly front engine and V8...? :S

[badgerracing]

Does that mean they've got the bits left over to build a hybrid M6?

[Ozzie Osmond]

AdamAJP said:

like someone's fantasy project...

Yes, they don't seem to have finished it yet. The engine cover looks as though it's designed to show through a cut-out in the bonnet whereas the car in the video is surely just an i8??

[Edmundo2]

WTF?! I don't get it, what's the point again? Take an odd looking hybrid clever Beemer, strip all the clever USPs out of it, replace it with a V8 to arrive at an odd looking Beemer with a V8 costing an absolute fortune?

Why not just put the V8 in something else and arrive at something good looking with a V8 that doesn't cost a fortune?

[Kawasicki]

Front engined, cool (somebody will call it front mid engined no doubt)

[toppstuff]

An answer to a question no one has asked.

A stupid idea.

It will disappear without a trace

[AER]

What an amazing horrid looking subframe. Ugh!

[Baryonyx]

badgerracing said:

Does that mean they've got the bits left over to build a hybrid M6?

The titantic M6 is probably too heavy for the i8 powertrain.

[smithyithy]

Come to think of it..

i8 - £100k
M6 - £60k

£400k change, thanks.

[V8V Quadcamboy]

Why? Because they could.

Come on, you gotta smile at the irony of the idea and as a pistonhead admire the ballsiness of having a go. (Won't sell many if they got there tho)