The 20th century coachbuilder is back.
Legendary Spanish coachbuilder Hispano Suiza has rolled out its latest creation – a Lamborghini-powered supercar with mind-bending performance figures.
The Maguari HS1 GTC is a far cry from the luxury limos that the company built in the early 20th century. Named after a stork native to South America, the Maguari HS1 GTC really does fly – a 0-62 mph time of just 2.8 seconds has been reported, with a ‘limited’ top speed of 236 mph.
Those impressive figures are achieved thanks to a V10 engine that is said to be from the Lamborghini Huracan mated to a seven-speed paddle-shift gearbox which sends the power to the rear wheels. However, instead of the 602 bhp that the Italian supercar puts out, the Maguari HS1 GTC develops a crazy 1085 bhp thanks to the addition of two turbos.
Adding a pair of turbos to a V10 Lamborghini is something of a trendy thing to do in tuning circles, but unlike the cars from those YouTube drag races, the Maguari HS1 GTC still has all of its carbon fibre bodywork intact. In fact, it’s quite a pretty thing, with sharp lines making it something of a Batmobile crossed with a Noble M600.
The car was penned by Prof. Olivier Boulay, an internationally acclaimed car designer and architect from Paris. Its avian inspiration can be seen at the front, with the lines carrying on down the sides, cumulating in a wing-like rear light setup. Coming from a famed coachbuilder, it’s no surprise that the company will also allow customers to add their own bespoke flair to each individual car.
The modern-day Hispano Suiza is the brainchild of Austrian car designer Erwin Leo Himmel, who resurrected the brand in the 2000s after decades of it lying dormant. The original company was something of a Spanish-Swiss Rolls-Royce (Hispano Suiza even means Hispanic Swiss in Spanish), and produced aviation engines as well as luxury cars before it was gradually broken up in the 1960s.
“We want to build the most exclusive and comfortable luxury sports cars – jaw-dropping master pieces,” said Himmel. “The legacy of (original Hispano Suiza founder) Marc Birkigt continues. But we do not only build cars, we want to bring together like-minded individuals to actually live the brand.”
Now 100 years on from the creation of Hispano Suiza’s first aviation engine, the present-day firm is gearing up for the launch of its latest offering later this year and has its sights set on global expansion right away.
“Selected enthusiasts will have an exclusive review of the car with Mr Boulay and myself,” said Himmel. “We have allied our company with major partners and suppliers in the automotive industry to deliver the best product.”
“To personally cater to our customers around the globe, we have set up representative offices in New York, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and a design studio in Paris.”