Not that it really needed it, but there is a new super sports car manufacturer on the market. It is called, somewhat cryptically, Nilu27 and the founder Sasha Selipanov is a former designer at Koenigsegg and Bugatti. Now they have presented their first product.
The name: NILU. Sympathetically, this car does not rely on electrification or hybrid technology, but rather on a classic and purist twelve-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. Similarly in a no less classic and puristic way, it is combined with a manual gearbox, which is also swept through in a beautiful open shift gate.
Oh, and the car also has gullwing doors. However, the NILU is not completely old-fashioned in its approach. Underneath the striking design is a bespoke monocoque structure made of carbon fibre.
There are also aluminium alloy subframes at the front and rear. The V12 engine developed by Hartley Engines in New Zealand has a displacement of 6.5 litres, a cylinder angle of 80 degrees and, according to Nilu27, "revs up like an electric motor".
In contrast to most engines, which have intake inside the "V" and exhaust systems on the outside, the air flow in this V12 is reversed. The single throttle bodies are on the outside, while the exhaust exits at the top in a "hot V" configuration. The 12-to-1 Inconel exhaust is 3D-printed to allow for its complex shape and ends in a treble exit port, which journalist Jonny Lieberman says was inspired by a space shuttle.
Exact performance figures are not yet available, bu.