Aventador SVJ

Segment
Coupe

We didn't think this week could get any better after the reveal of the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50, a V12 spiritual successor to the McLaren F1. But now another automotive legend returns on the scene, also sporting a massive V12 engine sitting midship. Nearly 70 years after ceasing production, French luxury automaker and racecar manufacturer Delage returns with a new hypercar called the D12.

Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of Delage, as the company was founded over one century ago in 1905 by Louis Delage. The company has many Grand Prix wins to its name from the 1920s and '30s but eventually closed in 1953. This legendary nameplate has returned with a hypercar inspired by Formula 1 and fighter jet planes.

Powering the D12 is a massive 7.6-liter V-12 engine mated to an electric motor. These powerplants combined to put out 990 hp. No specific performance specs exist at the moment, but with just 3,086 pounds of dry weight to haul around, the D12 should be a ballistic missile around a track. Delage will also produce a Club variant with 1,010 hp and a dry weight of just 2,888 lbs.

The D12's development team includes a combined 16 FIA World Champion titles, including Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and Technical Director Benoit Bagur, a two-time FIA Touring Car World Champion. Like an F1 car, the D12 features a center-seat layout with an additional seat located behind the driver. The D12 also uses carbon fiber wheels with brake cooling and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

"We are thrilled to bring Delage back to life as one of the most exquisite and innovative hypercar brands in the world," said Delage's new CEO, Laurent Tapie. "It was the dream of the company's original founder, Louis Delage, to create the D12. I am honored and proud to be making his dream a reality with this incredible hypercar. The D12 will be a worthy modern successor to the engineering marvels that brought Delage its original fame. We want the feeling in the D12 to be the closest to the sensation of driving a Formula 1 car that has ever been experienced in a street-legal car."

Delage only plans to build a total of 30 cars priced at $2.3 million. The company feels confident that the D12 will break the Nurburgring Nordschleife production car lap record (currently held by the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ), which would easily justify its high asking price. Production begins in 2021.