Puritalia in Geneva with Berlinetta one-off Also announcement of sports e-car platform
Puritalia, the small Italian sports car maker, is once again bringing a car to the Geneva Motor Show with it. It also announces radical electric sports cars.
Puritalia from Naples has already presented its hybrid sports car Berlinetta at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019. Now the Italians are bringing a customized Berlinetta to the trade show. The body of the customer’s Berlinetta is covered with seven layers of hand-applied paint in the color “Rosso Vesuvio”. The sports car stands on individually forged monoblock wheels. The interior features lots of exposed carbon and seats upholstered in hand-tanned white leather.
Puritalia also announces a new sports car lineup, with development under the name Project SuperVEloce! is underway. While the Berlinetta is still equipped with a hybrid powertrain, the cars of the SuperVEloce will get!-Project an all-electric drive. The Italians have set up their new “Puritalia Mobility Technologies” division to handle development. The end result should be an easily customizable electric car platform that will be available to other manufacturers as well.
Berlinetta as an extremely lightweight super hybrid sports car
With the Berlinetta, low-volume manufacturer Puritalia delivers a sporty hypercar with a hybrid drive system. The key data for the Puritalia Berlinetta make spectacular reading.
The chassis for the two-door car is a carbon fiber monocoque weighing just 150 kilograms with bolted-on aluminum subframes. The Italians are putting a body on top of this, which is also formed from carbon fiber laminate. Their design is based on the Puritalia 427 Roadster from 2012. The Puritalia comes to a length of 4.50 meters, a width of 2.15 meters with exterior mirrors and a height of 1.28 meters. The wheelbase is specified at 2.70 meters. 19-inch rims with 285/30 tires sit in the wheel arches at the front. 20-inch wheels with 335/25 tires at the back.
V8 plug-in hybrid with 965 hp
For the powertrain, Puritalia relies on a five-liter, eight-cylinder, V-shaped gasoline engine with supercharging, two overhead camshafts and variable valve timing, which is installed as a front-mid engine. The combustion engine produces 750 hp and 848 Nm. This is combined with an electric motor on the rear axle. The manufacturer lists 965 hp as the system output and a maximum torque of 1.248 Nm, whereby the 25-kilogram e-motor can already deliver 370 Nm and a maximum of 215 hp from a standstill. The 5.2 kWh lithium-ion battery sits under the trunk floor. It is designed to provide a purely electric range of 20 kilometers. A charging time of three hours is specified. Shifting is by automated seven-speed transaxle transmission. The 380 brake system, which is equipped with six-piston and four-piston calipers, can also be ordered in a carbon-ceramic variant as an option.
Puritalia quotes a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of 2.7 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited at 335 km/h.
The driver of the Berlinetta is said to be able to configure the hybrid drive in a variety of ways via a large central touchscreen or by app via smartphone. Four different driving modes are also available. The weight distribution between the axles is said to be balanced, and the dry weight is rated at 1.410 kilograms specified. For sound control, the Puritalia relies on an exhaust system with flap control and tailpipes in the side sills and in the rear.
No more buttons in the cockpit
Inside, the Puritalia dispenses almost entirely with control buttons. The center console is adorned with a large touchscreen in polished aluminum that bundles all the operating functions. A fully digital instrument landscape also spreads out behind the aluminum-leather steering wheel. All surfaces are covered with leather, carbon or aluminum – you won’t find any plastic surfaces.
The Puritalia Berlinetta is built in an edition of just 150 units. Puritalia quotes a base price of 465.000 euros plus taxes. Of course, every buyer can individualize his car. However, only a limited number of individual options are available.