Wednesday 8th July 2009

Mantide To Tackle 'Vette ZR1 At The 'Ring?

Exclusive: Bertone special's new owner contemplates ultimate test for his new machine

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The owner of Stile Bertone’s first – and so far only – Mantide is contemplating a full-blooded assault on the 7:26.4 Nurburgring lap-time set by the Corvette ZR1 on which his very special car is based.

Mantide is based on the Corvette ZR1...

The Mantide is owned by British-born financier and ‘gentleman racer’ Dan Watkins, who according to Bertone’s chief designer Jason Castriota is getting quite excited about the prospect of pitting his new machine against ‘the green hell’.

‘It has been a dream of mine from the outset of this project,’ Jason told PH on the phone from Italy this morning. ‘The logistics are not easy, as we’ll need to hire a professional driver – somebody who’s truly a Nurburgring expert like Stefan Roser – and then get the circuit closed for a few days.’

‘It would have to be a decent effort, because it will take a few days for optimising tyres and the suspension, but in theory if you make something lighter and more dynamic it should go better!’

But designer Jason Castriota says it's faster!

According to Jason, the Mantide is around 30% more aerodynamically efficient than the already slippery ZR1, largely due to three elements of the eye-grabbing machine’s design which have been extensively wind-tunnel tested.

‘First of all we designed the flying buttresses to accelerate vortices of air across the rear deck, generating downforce without additional drag,’ says Jason.

‘One of the biggest factors causing drag is the wheels and tyres, particularly a car like the ZR1 which runs big 285 section tyres at the front. So the Mantide’s nose and the vents behind the front arches have been designed to move air around the wheels as freely as possible.’

Jason Castriota with his creation

‘The final touch is the Mantide’s flat floor, with diffuser and two small fans either side of the exhaust pipe to help move air cleanly from underneath the car.’

According to the designer, the result of this aero work is a cd factor of just .298. Coupled to a weight saving of 80kgs, and with the Corvette ZR1’s 638bhp supercharged V8 powertrain, the prospects of a quick ‘ring lap seem high.

But first the car has to get there. ‘To be honest it was my dream from the outset of the Mantide project, and although we started talking about it with the owner in a joking way, it’s starting to get a bit more real,’ Jason tells us. ‘I’d say the chances that we’ll do it are currently around 50%, but those odds could change for the better very quickly.’

The Mantide at the Goodwood FoS	One of the stars of the Supercar Parade

 

[350zed]

That is one of the craziest cars i have ever seen. Although horrendous looking IMO

[[AJ]]

I'm all for making dreams come true etc, but I'm sorry, I think that looks like it has been drawn by a 12 year old.

Just my opinion.

[BoRED S2upid]

‘The final touch is the Mantide’s flat floor, with diffuser and two small fans either side of the exhaust pipe to help move air cleanly from underneath the car.’



Fans sucking air from underneath the car? Banned in F1 many moons ago for producing too much downforce.

Awesome!.

[jgt1972]

It might be clever, it might be fast but...

[BBS-LM]

Lets hope the car does not get out of shape going into a fast corner and hit a crash barrier at the ring, then again would anyone care?

[Chris-R]

Interesting to see this car at Goodwood, as it's definitely one of those designs that looks much, much better in reality than in any of the photos I've seen. Anyone who saw it there agree?

[97BlackC5]

looks like its just been pulled out of a crash barrier! Give me the ZR1 any day of the week.

[VladD]

Tonight at 19:00 on Dave: When origami goes bad!!

[dazsmith69]

it may look horrendous, but from the article it sounds functional, and all the crazy scoops and fans might reduce some lap times.

Have Nissan stuck their VSpec round the ring yet to see if beats the ZR1 time?

[E30M3SE]

Chris-R said:

Interesting to see this car at Goodwood, as it's definitely one of those designs that looks much, much better in reality than in any of the photos I've seen. Anyone who saw it there agree?

Errrmmmm. No. Not me.

[The Walrus]

It reminds me of one of the androids from battle star galatica !!!

[thehardman07]

Despite people's opinon on the styling, this car is a one off from a respected car designer. Bearing this in mind, you've got to give the man his dues, at least he's using the thing in anger and not locking it away never to see the light of day (which would seem a good idea to some people!)

[HowMuchLonger]

Are there any photos of the interior?

I love these limited run cars, I just wish they would sell me one at a (very) big discount.

[Speed_Demon]

It looks ridiculous, but I love it TBH. Sounds crazy fast too.

[SystemParanoia]

Chris-R said:

Interesting to see this car at Goodwood, as it's definitely one of those designs that looks much, much better in reality than in any of the photos I've seen. Anyone who saw it there agree?

yeah. hear hear


that porka panama is MASSIVE tho dont you think ?

[TheYeti]

The rear end looks like the face of a Cylon!!!

[EDLT]

The front:



Having aerodynamic fans that were banned from F1 does sound cool, despite it's appearance.

[smokingtyre]

That pic of the back end looks like a ZR1 turning into a Transformer

[Paul 8v]

It did look better in real life, just like the citroen

[jgt1972]

thehardman07 said:

Despite people's opinon on the styling, this car is a one off from a respected car designer.

That doesn't automatically make it deserve respect though.