Remember the Puritalia Berlinetta, the 965-horsepower, retro-styled hybrid super-coupe that debuted in Geneva last year? Well it's coming back this year, only this time it'll be fully electric.
In the ramp-up to the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, Puritalia Automobili has announced plans to reveal its Project SuperVEloce. Details are still few and far between, but we're expecting the same old-school design that envelops the existing Berlinetta to pack a completely electric powertrain this time around. And you can bet it'll boast a whole lot of voltage to return blistering performance figures and a driving experience as electrifying as its powertrain.
As it stands, the existing Puritalia Berlinetta (pictured in grey) features a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 paired with a lightweight electric motor on the rear axle to deliver a combined output of 965 horsepower and 920 lb-ft of torque. With a 700-volt lithium-ion phosphate battery and a seven-speed sequential gearbox, the Berlinetta is said to be capable of hitting 62 mph in a scant 2.7 seconds as it rockets on to a top speed of 208 mph. And it looks the part, too, with carbon-fiber bodywork that, to our eye, appears to blend some of the best elements of the Shelby Cobra and Mercedes-AMG GT coupe with a healthy dose of Latin style.
Just how the electric version's specs will compare, we'll have to wait to find out. But we wouldn't expect Puritalia to skimp on the power and performance as it expands on the electrification expertise it accumulated in developing the Berlinetta's hybrid powertrain into a fully electric one.
The niche manufacturer aims to build the SuperVEloce to order, each example tailor-made to the customer's specifications. But beyond that, the new Puritalia Mobility Technologies division behind this project intends to offer the platform to other automakers to turn into their own high-powered electric vehicles, potentially positioning Puritalia as the next Rimac, the Croatian startup that's already helping the likes of Porsche, Pininfarina, and Hyundai develop their own electric supercars.