Sbarro Challenge 1 1985

Sbarro Challenge 1 1985 by Autocult

Couldn’t be flatter!  
In 1971 Franco Sbarro began to build a replica of the Lola T70 in Switzerland. Therewith he accidentally encountered a market niche and continued his line of replicas of significant milestones of automotive history. Each of Sbarro’s replicas was not only a copy of the original, but an own interpretation in respect of the original design matched to the zeitgeist. His most commercially successful car was a BMW 328 replica.   In the mid-1980s, the Swiss company changed its focus to the production of concept cars and unique custom-made cars. The company got high-profiled in 1985, or more specifically at the Geneva Motor Show. At the exhibition stand, journalists and visitors were fascinated by an extremely flat, white car that they had never seen before. It was the visual appearance of the car – the extreme wedge shape – that radiated an undeniably magic. The eye-catcher was the stepless transition from the front hood into the windshield. The ultra-flat wedge design ended in two wings at the highest point of the roof. Both wings extracted during braking, thus supporting the braking effect. Franco Sbarro stated that the top speed was 310 km/h; an unimaginable speed for the most ordinary motorists in the mid-1980s. This speed was primarily possible through an adapted Mercedes-Benz drive block of a 5-litre V-8 engine, two turbocharges and a power output of 380 hp. In second place, the first-class drag coefficient of only 0,23 – some sources mention the value of 0,26 – made a significant contribution to the top speed. This, for a car first-class drag coefficient, might spoke for itself for many years.   In addition to the model on display, which was designated as ‘Challenge I’, other concept cars followed in the years 1986 (Challenge II), 1987 (Challenge III) and 1988 (Challenge III evolution). In total 10 copies were built from 1985 to 1988.