RML Group, a UK-based firm renowned for its unusual car tuning projects, has shed light on the entire production cycle of its Short Wheelbase coupe inspired by the legendary Ferrari GTO. The company is currently building three such cars at once for owners who reportedly paid at least £1,350,000 (U.S. $1,600,000) for each one.
‘Short Wheelbase’ is the long way to write SWB, which was one of the modifications of the original Ferrari 250 GT dating back to the mid-20th century. In their work, RML Group strived to recreate the aesthetics of that exact car from Maranello HQ.
The black skeleton-like vehicle featured in the photos below consists of a chassis and a body made completely from carbon-fiber panels. The panels are manufactured with a 1mm precision and weigh as little as 42.5 kilograms. The white car has been primed for painting with the help of a primer and a special paint layer designed to ensure a rich shade of blue on the finalized car. The titular image shows the completed body with only the interior, noise insulation and wiring left to sort out.
That said, the only finished RML restomod shown here is a pre-production mockup made over a year ago and exhibited as a demo car. The company plans to make a total of 30 such coupes, with each example taking around nine months to deliver.
The project is classified as a restomod thanks to an abundance of parts the team sources from original Ferrari 550 Maranello models. That notwithstanding, the continuation car is much smaller with a wheelbase only 2.2 meters (86 inches) long. Its 5.5-liter V12 makes 485 PS (478 hp / 357 kW) and 568 Nm (419 lb-ft) of torque, sending it to the wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. The sprint lasts around 4 seconds and the top speed lies close to 300 km/h (186 mph), per the manufacturer.