Back in November 2020, GTO Engineering revealed preliminary plans for a sports car that would celebrate the best of the 1960s but with modern engineering. On April 23 the company showed the final exterior design, updated information on the car’s V12 engine, and announced the vehicle’s name — Squalo, the Italian word for shark.
The name, according to the company with facilities in England and Los Angeles, traces to the car’s “shark-like look, instincts and speed.”
“The GTO Engineering Squalo will stick to the same principles since the car was announced,” according to the announcement, “sub-1,000kg, with a manual gearbox, inspired by the Sixties sports cars of old but with modern engineering principles and materials.
“The Squalo will be powered by a bespoke V12 engine, in keeping with GTO Engineering’s ethos, and both engine and the complete car will be built completely by the firm from the ground up at its UK HQ.”
The company said it had previously announced the engine would be a quad-cam V12, but since then the engine has undergone some aesthetic changes and also had its weight reduced. For example, instead of being hidden under cover, the trumpets feeding the carburetors will be visible when the “bonnet” is opened.
GTO Engineering said it will share information, including horsepower figures, next month.
“There’s been an outpour of admiration for what we’re doing here and we realize a little bit of skepticism whether we’re actually making this: a V12-powered, sub-ton sports car with a Sixties feel but modern reliability, enjoyment and manufacturing quality,” GTO engineering founder Mark Lyon is quoted in the news release.
“We’re here to hopefully set the record straight to say yes, it’s happening and we’re sticking to our original ethos for the car as well as timing promises for production. We are also delighted to have early adopters and customer orders received already.”
“It’s often the small parts of a car that take the longest time,” he added. “We’re now at a stage where the design models are being created here in the UK and soon, we will announce our technical partners working with us on the exterior manufacturing and interiors, as well as wheels and tires.”
GTO Engineering plans to begin customer deliveries of the Squalo in 2023.
For more information, visit the GTO Engineering website.
