New Quad-Turbo V12, 2127bhp, £2.5m Italian Hypercar! ｜ 4K

This is a car named after an Icelandic volcano and wrapped around a bespoke 7-litre quad-turbo V12 engine. It's also made just down the road from the likes of Pagani, Ferrari and Lamborghini. This is a Giammaro Automobili Crafla and it is quite insane! Why so insane? Well, Giammaro reckons that this engine, in its highest performing format, produces 2,127bhp and nearly 1,500lb-ft of torque, which means I suspect it might be quite fast, even if it is just rear-wheel drive, which means it might be bonfiring its tyres all the way past 200mph. So that sort of stuff makes you think that this might be verging on the vapourware, except that Giammaro already has prototypes up and testing. Just for reference, the guy behind the wheel of the prototype and the development of the car is none other than Loris Picotti, the man that did the quad-turbo Bugatti EB110, the Veyron and the Chiron, plus a load of other work for Lamborghini, Koenigsegg and Pagani. Maybe not so much vapour after all. Now, obviously, one of the most intriguing things about this car is that bespoke engine because it's not borrowed from another car manufacturer. It's a 7-litre V12 with one, two, three, four turbos, all placed within the hot V of the engine and apparently capable of some really wild power figures. But more than that, in an age of electrification and hybrids, that is just cool. But you don't have to drive around with 2,000 plus brake horsepower all of the time or you'd be driving about like both of your feet were broken. So there is a white key specifically for between four and 800 horsepower via a boost controller, which is obviously for town work. And then there's a black key, which unleashes 1,650 brake horsepower, which is obviously for town and country. And then there is a final red key that unleashes the full 2,127. Now, all of that drives through a seven-speed Chima gearbox, which you can have with either a manual shift or paddles, and it's in a transaxle layout. Now, all a transaxle means is that the transmission and the axle are all in one unit and it saves space. So it's common in cars where the engine is the same end as the driven wheels. But GMR also has an 11-speed DSG gearbox in the works, and that's going to take some concentration to remember which gear you're in. But who's behind this glorious madness? And why, in a world that seems less keen on wantonly burning dinosaurs, do such a mad engine? And how on earth would you get it to pass emissions regulations? Time to hear from the boss, who used to be a founding partner at none other than Pagani. Is it possible to make all of this work? Well, as yet to be decided, but it sounds like this. Now, this is the engineering prototype, but it is all working. And even though we're in a warehouse, it does sound chunky. And even with the turbos, you can still tell it's a V12. So it's got some secret emissions wrangling stuff that we're yet to find out about, which is interesting. But what about the rest of the car? That's a 170 kilogram carbon monocoque under there, with aluminium crash structures at either end, which is quite common for this sort of thing. But all told, it weighs under 1500 kilograms, so it's not particularly hefty for the power outputs. Yeah, strip away all of that camouflage, and obviously you get this. Now, for me, there are influences from a lot of different hypercars, and that's quite obvious because it is mid-engine. But there's bits of Ferrari, bits of Koenigsegg, a little bit of Pagani, maybe even a bit of Ford GT. But there's some obvious aero work going on with this car. So down here, you've got some aero channels, which then fire up and take the airflow over the wind screen and into the back of there. Just here, there's a couple of little details. So there's a window where you can see the onboard pushrod suspension. And then as I was moving down the car, I noticed these. So these are 10-piston calipers on carbon ceramic discs, so it should stop. But as you move down the car, you've got this kind of fighter jet canopy in the middle, which feeds these rooftop scoops. It's all quite aggressive, but quite well blended, and then a big scoop in the side. Interestingly, these top intakes feed back over what are to be the exhausts. So top surface mounted, that'll make a hell of a noise, and they feed back over this active rear wing and airbrake. And then at the back, it's got this kind of, I don't know, afterburner-style rectangular rear lights and a big Venturi. It has got a lot of presence. So what did they want people to think when they first looked at a Crafla? Because it's not the easiest thing to immediately fall for. So I asked Pierre Francesco. And then once you're inside, it's all very high-tech, and fighter jetty. Now, this is a show car, so it's going through the cycles on the dash. But if you look forward, you've got this real big canopy feel. So you're looking down into those front vents, so it feels very performance, quite aggressive. There's actually loads of head room, and these seats are super comfortable. And if things are comfortable, people drive the cars more. Digital dash in front, and then the steering wheel's got the rev counter, so you always know you're going to hit that 9,000 RPM red line. It's got the paddles mounted on the column, so you always know where they are. And then it's got a little touchscreen. It's not overburdened with massive screens. And then these architectural features, which draw you in to where you're looking. And one of the interesting things about this car is it has a third spring on either end of the car to help with things like ride height, pitch, and yaw, so you can make the car behave very differently. That's definitely something I want to try. So some of these cars feel really unfinished, and like they're a bit science fiction. This actually feels quite real. I will say, though, that there's a lot of cool tech in here, and none of it is cheap. The interesting thing here is that Giammaro aren't just talking about making the Craffler bespoke in terms of paint and finishes, but how it drives. So each of the 30 customers for this 2.5 million euro monster can have a car that reacts in a way suited to them specifically. So one Craffler might have a super extreme track mode or very road orientated standard setup, different reactions to throttle and possibly even steering. It's supposed to be the bespoke tailored suit, not just the look, but the feel too. But that's not all. Giammaro is also looking to the future of the company with something a bit more uplifted. Now, you may have noticed another car lurking in the background, and it's this, the Albor, named after another volcano, this time on Mars. It's the same bones as the Craffler, so the same quad turbo V12, the same carbon tub, but kind of lifted and ruggedized. Now, anyone who knows me will know that I love a Safari slash Dakar edition, and this is essentially that for the Craffler. And I think this is super quirky, and it's definitely something I drive on the daily. Okay, so we don't have production cars yet, but Giammaro has fully working prototypes out there in the world, which makes me think this is more than just a bit of pretty AI wishful thinking. And its base here in the heart of Italy's supercar valley makes me think it might just be possible. But the thing is, they don't lack for quad turbo ambition. And for that, at the very least, they need to be applauded.