New GTO Engineering Squalo set for 2023 debut
Sixties Ferrari lookalike set for naturally-aspirated V12, manual gearbox and sub-1000kg kerb weightFerrari specialist GTO Engineering has released pictures of its retro-styled Squalo sports car it will launch in 2023.
Formerly known as Project Moderna, the GTO Engineering Squalo (which is Italian for shark) remains heavily inspired by the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO SWB that was made from 1962 to 1964.
It's claimed to be all-new from the ground up – and that includes its naturally-aspirated quad-cam V12 engine.
UK-based GTO Engineering, which was founded back in 1991 and has become one of the world's leading Ferrari restorers, admits many elements of the Sqaulo pay tribute to the 250 GTO, including its triple bonnet vents, quad-exit exhaust and twin vents in the shapely front fenders.
But it says the rest of the design is completely different.
Like the original, the Squalo is set to be based on a steel and aluminium tube chassis, but bringing it up to date is a liberal use of carbon-fibre that saves weight while boosting rigidity.
Despite the period look, there's plenty of modern touches incorporated, such as brighter LED headlights and larger 18-inch alloy wheels that mimic the original racer's steel wheels.
GTO Engineering has yet to release full details of the Squalo, but says when production begins in 2023, it will tip the scales at less than 1000kg – 700kg-plus lighter than a modern Ferrari 812 Superfast.
Power figures are also being kept under wraps, but expect the new V12 to be loosely based on the original Columbo V12 that featured a four-cam arrangement in the later '97 275 GTB/4.
Despite breathing through traditional carburettors, the new 4.0-litre V12 should be capable of revving to a stratospheric 8000rpm and produce comfortably more than 300kW.
Sending all its might to a pair of skinny rear tyres through a five- or six-speed transmission, it's thought the GTO Engineering creation will shun all electronic driver aids, including ABS.
Following on from a limited run of the firm’s 250 SWB Revival, the new Squalo is expected to take around 18 months to build at GTO Engineering’s Berkshire HQ, with 300 hours alone going into the construction of the V12.
There’s no word on pricing, but expect the GTO Engineering Squalo to cost more than a million dollars when first customer cars are delivered in 2023.
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