The extremely rare Sbarro Espace GT1 is now on sale in Spain for the wealthy supercar collector who wants something unique.
If you’re looking for something that nobody else has, look no further than the Sbarro Espace GT1. Tiny Swiss sports car maker Sbarro unveiled the one-of-a-kind GT1 at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show in honor of Mercedes’ recent win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That’s why it sort of bears a passing resemblance to an LMP racer.
There’s a lot of the late ‘90s in this car, starting with the engine. It’s a massive 7.4-L Mercedes-sourced V8 that you cannot possibly hope to get away with in today’s world of highly regulated emissions and fuel efficiency. Power is 450 horses, which is not bad for 1999, with zero to sixty done in a respectable 4.9 seconds. Top speed is just a hair under 202 mph.
Power is sent to the rear wheels with a 5-speed sequential manual at a complete loss as to what to do with all that power and so few gears.
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Things get really weird as soon as you climb inside the GT1’s butterfly doors. The entire interior is covered in black and red velvet, and when we say “entire” we mean everything. Seats, armrests, backrests, parts of the door--all of it is velvet. It’s like Prince decided to buy a sports car and asked for an appropriate interior. Although he’d probably have gotten it in purple.
The steering wheel is wrapped in suede while the shifter is wrapped in leather. Carbon fiber can be seen peeking out through the dashboard, steering column, and doors where it isn’t covered in velvet.
Strangest of all are the seats--or the complete lack of them. The seats are integrated into the cabin, which means there’s nothing to adjust. You just kinda nestle yourself in and hope that you’re not too big or too small. The pedals and steering wheel are adjustable, but the car is definitely not made with all body types in mind.
There are only 876 miles on the odometer, so the engine hasn’t even been broken in yet. It’s listed as being sold from Magna Supercars in Spain for an unknown price. We’re thinking probably in the 7-figure range.