What happens when the past and future of automobiles converge in unpredictable ways? Sometimes, that can involve transforming a vintage gas-powered car into one that runs on electricity; in others, it might involve bringing a historic marque back into production with cutting-edge design and engineering. The latter is the case with Hispano Suiza, whose Carmen hypercar just got a rave review from Car & Driver.
Hispano Suiza is one of two automakers jump-starting the legacy of the storied Spanish automaker Hispano-Suiza. (You’ll note the hyphen and the lack of one.) The company behind the all-electric Carmen has familial ties to one of the original company’s co-founders — and, as of this week, a lot of encouraging press. As Mike Duff points out in his review of the Carmen, the company that built is also behind Mahindra’s Formula E vehicles. If a blend of performance and efficiency is what you’re looking for, that doesn’t seem like a bad place to start.
Some of the details brought up at Car & Driver are especially enticing — including that the Carmen can get up to 1005 horsepower. Its souped-up counterpart, the Carmen Boulogne, is capable of reaching 1100 hp. Neither is cheap — they’ll set you back $1.73 million and $1.92 million, respectively. And both are being made in relatively limited qualities, to begin with — specifically, 14 Carmens and five Carmen Boulognes.
Soon enough, a Carmen might show up on a road near you. The review mentions that the first one headed to a customer is slated for delivery by year’s end.
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