GTO Squalo carbon skeleton revealed
Even without bodywork the Squalo looks like a work of art
What you’re looking at here is the starting point of GTO Engieering’s latest homage to 1960s Ferraris. This is the carbon skeleton of Squalo, which will one day hold together the body of that’ll mix classic Ferrari elements with modern touches for what the firm hopes will be the perfect mix of old and new.
Judging by the complexity of the carbon tub, Squalo will be a far cry from the reimagined 250 Ferraris the company is known for. GTO Engineering has partnered with DEXET Technologies to devise a lightweight carbon tub that’s manufactured in three separate sections. The forward element contains the engine and gearbox, the middle gets the cabin (shock, horror) and fuel cell while the rear houses the diff.
A three-section chassis doesn’t exactly sound like a monocoque. If anything, it’s more of a tripl… never mind. Naturally they’ll be bolted together to form one solid structure, which GTO Engineering claims will offer “optimum feedback to the driver, with maximum precision.” The upside is that maintenance becomes a fair bit easier when you can split the chassis into three different sections.
Ultimately, the move to a carbon tub has allowed GTO Engineering to register the Squalo as a modern road car. This is an incredibly expensive procedure, given that it now needs to meet modern safety standards, but it means that cars can be built from the ground up instead of requiring a donor car as before.
“Our goal was always to create something different and unique but keep to what we all fundamentally love about cars – the fun of driving them,” said GTO Engineering’s technical chief Alexander Aucken. “Squalo will be fully customisable to individual specifications, perfectly blending the style and atmosphere of the golden age of sports cars with ground-breaking modern technology, engineering and stimulating engine performance.”
Speaking of the engine, we actually get a little glimpse of it tucked away in the front section of the not-so-mono monocoque. It’s a 460hp, 4.0-litre naturally aspirated V12 that’ll redline at 10,000rpm. It only weighs 165kg, too, which just goes to show how seriously GTO Engineering is taking the whole ‘sub 1,000kg’ target. We’ll find out how the whole package comes together when the car launches in 2023. We can’t wait.
https://www.gtoengineering.com/revival
I suspect they'll have more than one client who has already bought a real SWB, a revival SWB and one of these from them. Oh, to move in such circles.
Given how old the 250 is, that protection has probably lapsed.
Given how old the 250 is, that protection has probably lapsed.
Shame as if had a lotto win i would be first in the queue!!
I don't know the protections and time periods involved in detail, and they vary by territory, but I think generally design patents don't last that long - 15 to 25 years, around about. I don't think Ferrari can do anything about someone building a car that looks just like a 250 SWB. They can only object to things like unauthorised use of a trademark, so any car being sold with the 250 SWB design would need to be carefully branded and marketed with no references to Ferrari.
If you go to the product page on GTO's website, you'll see just that. Zero reference to anything directly Ferrari related. It just says very generic stuff like, 'Inspired by the golden age of sports cars':
https://www.gtoengineering.com/squalo
https://www.gtoengineering.com/revival
I suspect they'll have more than one client who has already bought a real SWB, a revival SWB and one of these from them. Oh, to move in such circles.
Re copyrighting etc, I don't see what they are doing here as differing particularly from what Ruf do, given that they build Porsche-shaped cars from the ground up.
Re copyrighting etc, I don't see what they are doing here as differing particularly from what Ruf do, given that they build Porsche-shaped cars from the ground up.
Re copyrighting etc, I don't see what they are doing here as differing particularly from what Ruf do, given that they build Porsche-shaped cars from the ground up.
Given how old the 250 is, that protection has probably lapsed.
this and the gma t33 are the greatest cars of the decade.
and the ones showing where the sportscar industry should go.
after cars started to challenge horses it was not the strongest pulling or the most efficient horses that survived, but the most beautiful, as people would then only use them for pleasure. Historia magistra vitae?
https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2020/07/ferrari-los...
this and the gma t33 are the greatest cars of the decade.
and the ones showing where the sportscar industry should go.
after cars started to challenge horses it was not the strongest pulling or the most efficient horses that survived, but the most beautiful, as people would then only use them for pleasure. Historia magistra vitae?
Its often not that anyone has infringed anything, but just defending yourself can take companies under, as the big players can throw money at an expensive legal team knowing the small company cannot.
This latest offering from GTO is coming together very nicely now, perfect blend of classic looks with modern technology.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff