F1’s Damon wowed by Spada sportster

Here's the car that has already won the vote of former F1 world champion Damon Hill! Called the Spada TS Codatronca, it caught the eye of the star when he unveiled it at a recent show in Monaco – and soon after he chose it as the exhibition’s most beautiful car.

The mechanicals are based on a Corvette ZO6, but the styling is down to Italian design studio Spadaconcept. And what a piece of styling it is – the stunning bodywork is reminiscent of a Lamborghini Reventón at the front and a stealth bomber at the back.

The distinctive truncated tail (‘Codatronca’ in Italian) is said to be a homage to chief designer Ercole Spada’s former creations, such as the Alfa Romeo TZ1 Zagato coupé. But this is far from just a retro remake, it’s a production- ready car – and one designed from the outset with an exciting, up-to-date driving experience in mind.

It’s powered by a dry-sumped 7.0-litre V8, sending a huge 621bhp to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. That’s enough to ensure the Spada TS rockets from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds.

The newcomer can even boast some green credentials. Specify the ‘converter kit’, and the engine is tuned and reinforced to run on E85 bioethanol, providing a subsequent boost in both power and torque.

Spadaconcept has said it will be making only 20 examples of the TS model, priced at around £200,000. However, an even more powerful TSS version is already testing prior to launch at the end of the year.