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GTO Engineering announces its new project, the Moderna
4th November 2020
Following GTO Engineering’s drives and specification reveal of its 250 SWB Revival, the UK-based engineering firm and renowned Ferrari specialist has confirmed it is working on a new project. Codenamed Moderna, the new car will be a sub-1,000 kg sports car celebrating the best of Sixties motoring with modern and motorsport-derived engineering, and be created by hand under the GTO Engineering name.
The ethos of the new project by GTO Engineering is to push the boundaries of modern craftsmanship, with new materials and using the learnings the team has had building and maintaining a range of road- and race-oriented Ferraris since 1991.
Designed to be highly innovative but with feel and character, GTO Engineering’s team has chosen to maintain a tubular steel chassis while adding lightweight but high strength aluminium subframes, and will, for the first time, incorporate carbon fibre for the car’s shell. Utilising F1-type spec carbon fibre for the main body, GTO Engineering will use aluminium for the car’s doors and bonnet to save weight but also maintain a Sixties sports car feel.
With over 200 years of Ferrari road and racing experience, the GTO Engineering team also intends to give its new car a racing twist by adding motorsport-derived components to increase driver engagement, enjoyment and usability. Not only will the new car be bodied in carbon fibre but it will also have independent all-round suspension as well as large diameter wheels to incorporate lightweight yet powerful brakes, which will also assist with unsprung mass.
“It’s exciting to finally talk about our new project – a car that we’ve been discussing, sketching, specifying and honing for some time. Now it’s in development and we’re working alongside some incredible technical partners, we’re ready to lift the cover off the design renderings and initial sketches and explain the fundamentals of what makes this new car tick, explains GTO Engineering Managing Director Mark Lyon.
“We’ve learnt from building the 250 SWB Revival, and working on a range of Ferraris, that a car’s weight and engine are two of the key ingredients to make a good sports car. So, we knew that this car should be under a tonne and powered by a quad-cam V12 – an engine format we are familiar with and developing in-house. To accomplish the desired light weight, carbon fibre will be used, which obviously wasn’t available in the Sixties but a composite we will utilise alongside other materials. For example, the doors and bonnet feel and ‘weight’ when you open them, was something we knew we wanted to keep and that’s why they’ll be made in aluminium – they’ll be lightweight but still give that ‘reassuring’ close and feel of a classic when the driver or passenger gets in and out, as well as opening and closing the bonnet.”
The design of the new project has been inspired by the cars that GTO Engineering’s founder Mark Lyon and the team have been working on since the company’s inception in 1991. The front-engined, two-seater sports configuration with ‘double-bubble’ roof, functional venting on the bonnet and on the arches were chosen to maintain traditional styling elements, while the front headlights and spotlights, rear lights and exhausts are modernised with updated electrics and internals to reflect modern touches and reliability.
Project Moderna aims to be as personal and customisable to its owner as possible. With many paint, trim and accessory options offered, alongside the option to adjust major components such as suspension and gearbox options, the new car can be tailor made to each owner’s specific requirements. Each car will be created by hand in the UK.
All interested drivers should contact Ferrari@gtoengineering.com or call +44 (0) 118 940 1101 to discuss GTO Engineering’s new project, codenamed Moderna, to go through the specification and ordering process with the team.