Superlight Supercar: 2003 Farboud GTS

The mixture of cultures that combine to make the 2003 Farboud GTS are impressive - British manufacturing, Persian ownership and German powertrain technology - but the specifications even more so.

When 432kW are transferred to the rear wheels, resulting in a 322km/h top speed, the Farboud demands attention, and this newcomer to the supercar market looks set to make a big impact with the GTS.

Farboud is a relatively new niche supercar maker setup by motorsport enthusiast Arash Farboud in Britain in the late 1990s.

The marque's first production car is the GTS - and it looks amazing. Taking a little Ferrari 360 Modena, a little Porsche Carrera GT and throwing in some unorthodox styling cues just for good measure, such as the sophisticated rear end and tapering roof scoop, the GT is likely to have Lamborghini and Zonda owners asking "What on Earth was that?"

As it stands, the Farboud GTS is a very light, very agile and very quick mid-engined supercar whose power is sourced from a highly worked Audi engine.

Keith Murray, chief engine designer at Farboud, began his career working with motorcycle engines, and in 1994 started his own company that specialised in squeezing huge amounts of power from Audi motors.

As such, it comes as no surprise that the engine used in the Farboud GTS is a highly worked version of the 2.8-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the now superceded RS6 - the current RS6 models use turbocharged 4.2-litre V8s.

Murray reckons that while the engine makes use of an Audi block and cylinder heads, "...virtually everything else is our own. They don't make an engine anything like it."

Quite right, as the 2.8-litre, 24-valve V6 pumps out substantially more power than the old RS6 ever did, thanks to a larger and more efficient pair of turbochargers - Garret T28 roller bearing turbos, to be precise.

According to Murray, the turbos can push out heaps of boost and have a very low spooling up period, making for a perceptible reduction in turbo lag - the bane of many a high-performance forced induction mill.

The mid-mounted, water-cooled V6 twin turbo powerplant further reduces lag by shortening the distance between the turbos and the exhaust manifold. Peak power is a stomach churning 432kW, and it's interesting to note that such a high power figure arrives at particularly low engine revolutions: 5000rpm. Not bad for a sub-3.0-litre bent six.

And while peak torque of 550Nm ensures the lightweight car is fast, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds, Farboud is remaining tight-lipped on where peak torque occurs - our guess is around 3000rpm.

The Farboud's power is transmitted to the 19-inch rear wheels via a six-speed Getrag-built manual transmission, but numbers like 3.3 seconds and 322km/h don't come about simply by way of power and torque.

Sure, they are crucial aspects to any car - super or not - and endow the vehicle with a certain personality when driven. But overall vehicle weight and aerodynamics are important when you want something to break the 300km/h barrier.

Therefore, it makes sense that Farboud uses lots of aluminium in the GTS's chassis construction, to reduce weight and provide solid levels of torsional rigidity for linear handling characteristics.

The body panels that cover the chassis are also lightweight and very stiff, making use of a veritable cornucopia of exotic materials. Advanced composite Z-preg (a.k.a Zebra pattern) carbon fibre panels are reinforced with kevlar and honeycomb sheets, making for a bullet-proof ride (so to speak) that's not too lardy either, weighing in at approximately 1200kg.

The car's low stance combined with wind-tunnel testing has ensured that the Farboud GTS remains planted at all road speeds. The front splitter and rear diffuser are particularly important, and help give the supercar a drag coefficient of 0.36.

Performance wise, and the Farboud GTS is one very sharp tool, which could upset the balance of power in the supercar world if it catches on with traditional Ferrari and Porsche buyers. Farboud is also quick to tout the vehicle's practicality, claiming easy ingress/egress and good all round visibility as hallmarks of the GTS.

Step inside the GTS, and you'll be greeted with more carbon fibre and aluminium - trim, that is - along with lots of supple cowhide. Light weight custom-built Sparco seats are part of the deal, as are a number of race track extras including a lap timer, traction control and power settings (last two items are steering wheel mounted). Air-con and a stereo are also included.

The Farboud GTS is an unusually intriguing vehicle - it has essentially come from nowhere and has the potential to go a long way with its cultural combinations: It looks amazing, promises full-on performance, racecar-inspired handling and it's much lighter than most supercars - the Murcielago is 450kg heavier.

Though the supercar war is getting extremely heated as we approach the middle of the decade, with Porsche, BMW, MG and Mercedes all vying for bragging rights by offering expensive, limited run exotics, Farboud could be onto a very good thing, particularly if the price is right.