Wiesmann has released details over its upcoming sports car – codenamed ‘Project Thunderball’.
The new images show plenty of similarities to previous Wiesmann cars, such as the long bonnet, stubby rear-end retractable soft top and rounded grille reminiscent of a Jaguar XK120’s. There are also round rear lights protruding from the body work and vents in the wings – suggesting some form of internal-combustion engine under the bonnet.
That’s where this new Wiesmann could differ the most from the German firm’s back catalogue. Wiesmann has historically favoured engines from BMW’s M cars, with the E36 M3’s straight-six used in the MF30 and even the V10-powered M5 sharing its powertrain with the GT MF5.
The company’s new owner and CEO, Roheen Berry, hinted at the car’s electrification by saying “as the automotive industry undergoes its biggest revolution in a century, there can be no better time to announce the return of a refreshed, reborn and recharged motoring icon.”
Options for hybridised BMW engines remain light with a likely option coming from the straight-six petrol plug-in hybrid from the X5 xDrive45e. The next BMW M5 will receive a hybrid V8 but that won’t arrive before the Project Thunderball is released.
Project Thunderball will be built at the firm’s ‘Gecko’ factory alongside Project Gecko – another retro sports car tipped to use a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8.
Check out our thoughts on another retro sports car – the new Morgan Plus Four…