Automotive

Graphene-laden GTA Spano supercar boasts 230 mph+ top speed

Graphene-laden GTA Spano supercar boasts 230 mph+ top speed
The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The innovative carbon fiber and graphene chassis of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The innovative carbon fiber and graphene chassis of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The GTA Spano unveiled in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The GTA Spano unveiled in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The impressive, in house designed and built V10 of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The impressive, in house designed and built V10 of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The GTA Spano on display in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The GTA Spano on display in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The aerodynamically detailed rear end of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The aerodynamically detailed rear end of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The profile of the GTA Spano shows graceful lines that belie the cars overall short length (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The profile of the GTA Spano shows graceful lines that belie the cars overall short length (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The rear end shows careful attention to aerodynamic detailing (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The rear end shows careful attention to aerodynamic detailing (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The rear end shows careful attention to aerodynamic detailing (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The rear end shows careful attention to aerodynamic detailing (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The GTA Spano's sculpted rear end (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The GTA Spano's sculpted rear end (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The unique side treatment of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The unique side treatment of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The upswept curving character line is the most distinct styling feature on the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The upswept curving character line is the most distinct styling feature on the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The front end has aggressive lines and proportions (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The front end has aggressive lines and proportions (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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Another view of the GTA Spano's nose shows its handling of aerodynamic details (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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Another view of the GTA Spano's nose shows its handling of aerodynamic details (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The GTA Spano from the rear with the driver's door open (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The GTA Spano from the rear with the driver's door open (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Another shot showing the butterfly door in the open position (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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Another shot showing the butterfly door in the open position (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
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The all-new Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
View gallery - 47 images

Not all show cars are vaporware and not all boutique supercars are merely dreams. Spania's GTA Spano is a good case in point. It's got looks, it's got performance, it's got an in-house V10 engine and it's got a prominent place at this year's Geneva Motor Show. Most importantly, it has an undeniable solidity to it that says anything but "vaporware".

In the lead up to Geneva, Spania teased the automotive world with some brief specs and enticing images of its new model. Fan-dance PR moves like that are a time honored tradition in the automotive world, and we all take them with a bit of salt. Car companies can promise a lot, but delivering on those promises can be a difficult hurdle to jump.

Spania, on the other hand, has seemingly cleared them with ease with its new GTA Spano. In many ways, the GTA Spano has all of the requisite bits and bobs a 2015 supercar requires – it seats only two, the engine is in the middle, it looks like a race car, the bodywork and aero attachments are there for performance and not just looks. In 1965, this would have been earth-shaking, but in 2015, that's what people expect from a top of the line supercar.

The front end has aggressive lines and proportions (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The front end has aggressive lines and proportions (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

Apart from the utterly bizarre Tramontana, Spain has not been known as a supercar-producing country since the days of the Hispano-Suiza or Pegaso. Yet, here sits the GTA Spano, and like it's fraternal predecessors from the 1930s, the GTA Spano is not to be taken lightly.

Consider the engine. The GTA Spano has its own new V10 twin turbo plant that was designed and built in house. That's no small engineering feat, and Spania seems to have pulled it off with great aplomb. The engine displaces just under 8 liters (7,990 cc's to be exact), so it's not some diminutive hair drier with pretensions. The engine cranks out 925 hp (690 kW) and 1,220 Nm (900 ft-lb) of torque, which isn't that far off from an ocean going tug. That's more power and torque than an F1 car, an Indycar, a NASCAR stocker and an Australian V8 Supercar. Unlike those, however, the GTA Spano can be driven on everyday roads.

The impressive, in house designed and built V10 of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The impressive, in house designed and built V10 of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

All that power and grunt is transferred to terra firma through a newly designed sequential 7-speed gearbox. With this all-new powertrain, the Spanish supercar accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of over 370 km/h (230 mph), which means this thing will only be topped by a couple of Veyron variants, a McLaren F1 and a Koenigsegg Agera R.

Heady and rare territory indeed. And speaking of rare, the GTA Spano maintains its exclusivity with a limited production run of only 99 vehicles. Sadly, you will most likely not get to see this beast very often.

The engine is not the only fascinating thing about the GTA Spano, the chassis is a bit strange in materials yet also interesting. Spania GTA developed an all new carbon monocoque chassis that is the only one of its kind among all the supercar manufacturers. The chassis of the GTA Spano is built up from titanium and graphene and the company claims it is the best in terms of rigidity and lightness.

The innovative carbon fiber and graphene chassis of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The innovative carbon fiber and graphene chassis of the GTA Spano (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

This unique and high tech chassis was the product of a collaboration between Spania GTA and Graphenano, a top Spanish company in the production of graphene. Spania not only looks upon its new supercar baby as a go fast machine, it also looks on the GTA Spano as a rolling laboratory that is working to introduce graphene into the automobile sector. So graphene is not only found in the chassis, but also in the bodywork and leather upholstery as well. Both Spanish companies are researching ways to introduce graphene for other uses.

The GTA Spano is also a very distinctive looking automobile. The company says that the "GTA Spano maintains the lines that identify the Spanish brand, with marked personality and exclusivity." We'll buy that. With the ovoid swoop encircling the butterfly-hinged doors, it will be hard to mistake it for another car.

Only newly minted, the GTA Spano has not hit the streets yet, but it will be interesting to see how it fares, not only against other boutique supercars like Koenigsegg or Gumpert, but also against mainstream supercar manufacturers, such as McLaren and Ferrari.

Source: Spania GTA

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6 comments
6 comments
Alex Haws
so how much does it weigh?
KyleButler
I call BS. Nobody's been to exploit graphene's strength properties on a macro scale yet. I'd guess they mixed a trace amount in there to cash in on the hype. Saying graphene "is found in" parts of the car is pretty slippery, and says nothing about what it contributes. Stats please.
Tom Lee Mullins
while I think it is cool, where could one really drive a car like that at the speed it was designed for? I would not mind that design on a car that does not go fast but look good no matter what speed it goes.
Pedro Pérez
In the website says as follows: "...The chassis has been built completely out of carbon fibre, graphene, titanium and kevlar, whose rigidity is four times greater than that of today’s presently commercialised supersport cars, which offers the best level of safety. With this technology, the weight of the monocoque is less than 80 kg, while total weight is 1,350 kg, with all the liquids and the most convenient equipment on board..."
Billy600
Current understanding of graphene suggests georce is likely right and only nominal amounts of the wonder material have been incorporated, which makes the title of 'Graphene-laden' ridiculous, especially as it's obvious the writer hasn't done any research to establish the facts - evidenced by Pedro finding the weight figure and stiffness claims on the website (as did I), while the writer couldn't (or couldn't be bothered). Instead, he regurgitated the press release with a load of added padding and rubbish.
This article should have been researched further to back up the graphene claim or written with the skepticism such claims deserve, and then written up simply and wittily. There's a story in the incorporation of graphene and in particular if it has anything to with the company's remarkable stiffness claims (which also should be questioned), but sadly the writer missed it. Terrible job.
usugo
I call it BS as well. To cover the car with an atom thick layer of graphene would probably cost as much as the rest of the car. Not mentioning the thousand/millions of layers needed to give the car the structural strenght of conventional carbon fiber, and the technology doesn't yet exist as well