Italy’s Strongest: Puritalia Berlinetta celebrates Geneva premiere

Puritalia. a lesser-known Italy-based coachbuilder, has unveiled a two-door luxury sports coupe called Berlinetta at the Geneva Motor Show currently being held in Switzerland. The company claims the vehicle represents the strongest made-in-Italy hybrid car to date.

From the technical point of view, the car features a so-called parallel powertrain and supports charging from a household wall socket. It includes a 5.0-liter V8 engine rated at an impressive 750 hp (559 kW) and an electric motor. Their combined output amounts to 965 hp (720 kW) and 1,248 Nm (920 lbft) of torque.

The traditional gas engine is located up front and links to the rear axle by means of a 7-speed DCT transmission. The electric engine is located in the rear.

The car only covers around 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) on its tiny 5.2 kWh battery, but still needs around 3 hours to get it back to full charge. It bolts 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in a trifling 2.7 seconds before maxing out at 335 km/h (208 mph). An engine boost can be engaged for a temporary torque increase from the normal 1,248 Nm (920 lbft) to 1,618 Nm (1,193 lbft). The Brembo performance brakes with fixed calipers should help cope with the monstrous drivetrain output quite well, though.

The exterior design of the Puritalia Berlinetta mirrors that of the coachbuilder’s previous model, the 427 Roadster. The car has the same droplet-shaped headlights, retro-style air scoop, and curvy outlines. Its outer body panels are made of prepreg-based composites. The supercar also has a sophisticated titanium exhaust system with two out of its four pipes running down the sides, and comes with an exhaust sound adjustment feature.

The interior houses a 12.3-inch digital dashboard, a carbon-fiber center tunnel, and a huge central multimedia display with access to all major functions of the car.

Italdesign plans to limit the production scope to just 150 units. All customers will be able to specify a number of parameters prior to buying the car. Prices will begin at €553,350. Interestingly, the manufacturer emphasizes that it will only sell the cars to those who are “worthy of representing the brand name.”

Photo: carscoops.com