Coachbuilding firms Maggiora and Carrozzeria Viotti have collaborated to revive the Willys Interlagos. The gorgeous reinterpretation of the 1960s sportscar's features a turbocharged six-cylinder engine producing 610 hp.
The original Willys Interlagos was a Renault-Alpine A108 built as a convertible and coupe for the Brazilian market by Willys-Overland. The car had plenty of racing success at the hands of drivers like Emerson and Wilson Fittipaldi.
Maggiora is planning to build 110 of its modern Interlagos', each of which will be powered by a 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged engine. The six-cylinder boxer produces 610 hp (455 kW), which Maggiora claims will propel the Willys to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 2.7 seconds – that's quicker than a Nissan GTR.
The car's rear mounted engine also produces 830 Nm (612 lb.ft) of torque at 4500 rpm, which is channeled to the rear wheels by a six-speed paddle shift gearbox. Though all of this power may be good for a claimed top speed of 340 km/h (211 mph), it isn't great for fuel economy. While the new Interlagos should achieve 9.3 l/100km on the highway, around town Maggiora says the car will guzzle 18.9 l/100km (12 mpg).
There is more, however, to this car than a massively powerful engine. Maggiora and Carrozzeria Viotti have fitted the car with an independent MacPherson Strut front suspension system, with a multilink system at the rear. Braking is handled by ceramic composite discs, measuring 380 mm up front and 360 mm at the rear, clamped on by six and four piston aluminum calipers respectively. This modern powertrain and suspension system helps to keep the Interlagos' weight down – kerb weight it just 1350 kg (2976 lb).
The car's beautiful styling draws on details from the Interlagos of the 1960's, like the shape of the rear glass, and the chrome wheels.
If the new Willys has caught your eye, you'll need to set aside €380,000 (US$468,029) and wait until early 2015, when production will begin in Turin, Italy.
Source: Maggiora and Carrozzeria Viotti
