A historic French brand is set to return with one of the most extreme hypercar designs ever. The new holders of the Delage brand are squarely focused on the Nurburgring lap record with the monstrous D12 and its 7.6-liter, naturally aspirated V12.
Miami-based French entrepreneur Laurent Tapie has leased the rights to the Delage name, with an option to buy, and is building the first Delage car in some 64 years. And how! With backing from "four deeply invested billionaires" according to an interview with Robb Report, he's fulfilling his dream of an F1 car for the street.
The D12 is a wasp-waisted monster whose dart-shaped cabin is so separated from the front wheels that it might as well be an open-wheeler. Its colossal mid-mounted V12, developed in-house, will put power down through an eight-speed single-clutch transmission with an electric motor built in to form a hybrid system.
Two versions will be made: an 1,100-hp, 3,086-lb (1,400-kg) GT version focused on the street, and a 1,010-hp Club version designed for light weight and focused on the track with a dry weight of 2,888 lb (1,310 kg). Naturally, everything that can be carbon is, including the monocoque chassis, rims and bodywork.
Like the incredible Czinger 21C, the Delage D12 offers a tandem seating configuration that basically makes the passenger stare at the back of the driver's seat as the car goes into hyperdrive. We can't think of many things scarier than sitting in a car this fast with no idea what you're hurtling toward, but certainly the driver will have an incredible view.
As if it wasn't already enough of an alien spaceship to look at, the D12 has no doors. Instead, the roof of the cabin lifts off like the canopy of a fighter jet, or indeed the shocking Lamborghini Egoista one-off.
Tapie has stated that he wants the Nurburgring lap record for production cars – a record that currently belongs to Lamborghini's Aventador LP770-4 SVJ, which laid down a blistering 6:44.97 on the Nordschliefe in July of 2018. To get there, he's enlisted ex-F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve as Delage's chief test driver.
Thirty will be built, with prices starting at US$2.3 million and manufacturing to begin next year. The new Delage has been quietly showing a D12 prototype off at some pretty fancy-looking parties in the Hollywood Hills, but doesn't have an official website as yet. We sourced the photos in the gallery from the company's Instagram page.
Source: Robb Report