Wiesmann is a funky little German sports car maker, known for making traditional front-engine, two-seat sports cars with big engines driving only their rear wheels. For ages, Wiesmann has used BMW engines, with its most recent car — “Project Gecko” — it uses BMW’s 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8. Now, though, Wiesmann has announced a new car — “Project Thunderball” — and it’s said to be a “world first”.
British entrepreneur Roheen Berry recently took ownership of Weismann and this Project Thunderball is the first car to be developed during his time.
“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,” Berry said in a recent statement.
“Thunderball will continue Wiesmann’s reputation for setting the standard for performance, craftsmanship and sheer enjoyment. With its unequivocal style, this is the Wiesmann fit for the 21st century, and this is just the beginning.”
What does that all mean? We’re assuming electrification of some sort. The name “Thunderball”, implying some sort of electricity, and Berry’s comments about it being a Wiesmann for the 21st century lead us to believe Wiesmann is planning on building some sort of electrified car.
Electrification is expensive to invest in, especially for an ultra-small boutique manufacturer like Wiesmann. Even ALPINA needed to officially partner with BMW to get in to EVs. So it’s likely that Wiesmann will buy its powertrains and batteries from another brand. Considering its current use of BMW V8, we’re assuming the “Thunderball” will be using BMW eDrive units and batteries.
Will this new Wiesmann be fully EV or some sort of plug-in hybrid? Too early to tell. We know “Project Gecko” will use a BMW V8 and a ZF eight-speed auto, so “Thunderball” could get the same V8 with hybridization. Or it could be fully electric. We’d like to see that latter, though, as an electric roadster with traditional sports car styling would be awesome. News from Wiesmann has been slow, as it is a small manufacturer, but let’s hope there’s more news soon.
[Source: Autocar]