South Korea’s first supercar (if you ignore Rhys Millen’s crazy Genesis hill climb machine) will be launched during the third quarter this year.
Nearly a decade after it was unveiled in Proto Motors PS-II concept form, the Spirra has (finally) been homologated for road use.
The reason for such a glacial development process was ownership, with Proto Motors being bought out by the Oullim Group - the latter being a South Korean information technology giant.
Fortunately Oullim rerolled Proto Motors as Oullim motors and let them continue development work on the PS-II, which has finally germinated into the Spirra.
In terms of specification the Spirra is a meat-and-potatoes mid-engined, rear wheel drive supercar. Sitting amidships in the tubular frame chassis is a 2.7l Hyundai Tiburon-sourced V6, which can be had in three escalating power configurations.
Although Hyundai power makes an unlikely choice for powering a supercar, the 2.7l engine boasts a radically oversquare internal architecture (86.7mm/75mm bore versus stroke) which guarantees unwittingly quick throttle response.
Three models - from mellow to monstrous
The entry level Spirra runs a relatively mellow naturally aspirated version of the 2.7l V6 worth 128kW and 245Nm and is good for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.8 seconds.
Spirra technicians add a turbocharger to boost output to 330kW and 426Nm, which trims the benchmark 0-100km/h time alarmingly - to less than 4 seconds.
For those customers intent on being unchallenged in terms of performance, the headline Sprirra EX model features a twin-turbo evolution of the 2.7l V6 tallying an incredible 404kW and 490Nm. Spirra claims the six-speed transmission and rear-wheel drive architecture enables a 3.5 second 0-100km/h time for the most powerful model.
Backing up the Spirra’s massive accelerative performance is double-wishbone suspension at all four wheel corners and generously dimensioned Brembo rotors (355mm front, 350mm rear) actuated by four-piston callipers.
Designers have managed to keep the three car range all at a licensing mass of less than 1.5t, which should guarantee agile responses to dynamics driving inputs from the helm.
The Spirra’s attractive – though slightly generic - styling is accomplished courtesy of neat carbon-fibre surfacing and simple detailing, although it does feature a smattering of LED illumination in the side-mirrors.
Final pricing is still to be confirmed, though it should hover around the $100 000 mark.
What do you think of this debut Korean supercar? Boundless potential or limited appeal? Debate it here...
Nearly a decade after it was unveiled in Proto Motors PS-II concept form, the Spirra has (finally) been homologated for road use.
The reason for such a glacial development process was ownership, with Proto Motors being bought out by the Oullim Group - the latter being a South Korean information technology giant.
Fortunately Oullim rerolled Proto Motors as Oullim motors and let them continue development work on the PS-II, which has finally germinated into the Spirra.
In terms of specification the Spirra is a meat-and-potatoes mid-engined, rear wheel drive supercar. Sitting amidships in the tubular frame chassis is a 2.7l Hyundai Tiburon-sourced V6, which can be had in three escalating power configurations.
Although Hyundai power makes an unlikely choice for powering a supercar, the 2.7l engine boasts a radically oversquare internal architecture (86.7mm/75mm bore versus stroke) which guarantees unwittingly quick throttle response.
Three models - from mellow to monstrous
The entry level Spirra runs a relatively mellow naturally aspirated version of the 2.7l V6 worth 128kW and 245Nm and is good for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.8 seconds.
Spirra technicians add a turbocharger to boost output to 330kW and 426Nm, which trims the benchmark 0-100km/h time alarmingly - to less than 4 seconds.
For those customers intent on being unchallenged in terms of performance, the headline Sprirra EX model features a twin-turbo evolution of the 2.7l V6 tallying an incredible 404kW and 490Nm. Spirra claims the six-speed transmission and rear-wheel drive architecture enables a 3.5 second 0-100km/h time for the most powerful model.
Backing up the Spirra’s massive accelerative performance is double-wishbone suspension at all four wheel corners and generously dimensioned Brembo rotors (355mm front, 350mm rear) actuated by four-piston callipers.
Designers have managed to keep the three car range all at a licensing mass of less than 1.5t, which should guarantee agile responses to dynamics driving inputs from the helm.
The Spirra’s attractive – though slightly generic - styling is accomplished courtesy of neat carbon-fibre surfacing and simple detailing, although it does feature a smattering of LED illumination in the side-mirrors.
Final pricing is still to be confirmed, though it should hover around the $100 000 mark.
What do you think of this debut Korean supercar? Boundless potential or limited appeal? Debate it here...