The French Hot Rod with the Italian Heart

The Espera Sbarro Eight Concept is the car batman never picked up

If you are a student at Espera Sbarro Montbéliard school of design you're one of very few to get the chance to work on a concept car for either the Paris Auto Show (Mondial de l’Automobile) or the Geneva Auto Salon. Displayed in the second row in 2012 this car stole the attention of Arthur Heisler who visited the design school afterwards and submitted these photos. What a statement mixing two very contrasting styles: Hot Rodding and Stealth design.

Pushing all the right buttons: uncovered wheels, chopped roof, the right proportions and a visible engine. Take the heritage and remix was the motto and the unusual three window coupe came to life in just 40 days of pure hard work. The 3.2 liter Maserati Twin Turbo V8 from a wrecked 3200 GT is transferring 368 horses to the rear wheels and was a present of the schools founder Frank Sbarro. All Sbarro concepts are built on a handmade tubular frame, to which the fiberglass bodywork is attached, of course it is made in house. Custom pipes and custom minimal interour with fixed side-windows made from plexiglass leads to a pretty raw and unfiltered experience when the turbos starting to sing and spitting flames. OZ Racing Ultraleggera wheels with Michelin Pilot Sports measuring 245/40ZR19 up front and Bridgestone Potenza RE050As in 305/35ZR20 sizing at the rear are underlining the modern rod look. AVO Performance has a longtime relationship to the school and continues to support with custom made suspension units even when the time plan is very tight. The interour is a celebration of material using real wood for the door panels and leather straps instead of conventional handles. The seats are made of fibreglass covered with hand stitched leather pads.

At the rear coloured plexiglass with hidden LED lights work for a modern and functional look. The real tank is hidden under a fibreglass cover and fixed with leather straps in the same finish like the interior delivered by Composites 21, a company which is run by two former students of the school. Overall a team of 24 people, 20 students and four teachers worked on the EIGHT Concept and pushed all the right buttons making me want to go back to school.

If they only would sell it as a road legal one off...

Images: Arthur Heisler

Http://www.e-sbarro.fr/

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Comments (14)

  • Nice one. I'm friends with one of the current students who worked on that car. Article is also following. Long live the hot rod 3.0!

      4 years ago
  • I've visited the Sbarro school during the recent Open House day. It's really impressive. Read my blog post (in German): ptrl.ch/sbarro and watch my video. Their latest car, the 'Mojave' (photo) is currently on display at the Geneva International Motor Show.

      4 years ago
  • Ha, that looks so good....

      4 years ago
  • where is the petition, where i must sign that this car is built in series. i can very well imagine that a small series would find 100% sales.

      4 years ago
  • sexy sexy

      4 years ago
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