Ermini Seiottosei 686 revealed at Geneva

Historic Italian carmaker Ermini has returned to the Geneva show with a stylish new lightweight two-seater sports cars called the Seiottosei or 686 in Italian.

That name might be a bit of a mouthful in English, but it has been taken from the car’s kerbweight of 686kgs. The car uses a tubular steel chassis, over laid with carbon fibre body panels to achieve a power to weight ratio of 460bhp per tonne.

Power comes from a Renault 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that has been tuned to produce 315bhp. The claimed performance figures are impressive too with 0-62mph dealt with in just 3.5 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 168mph.

The equipment list includes plenty of hi-tech racing parts with Brembo brakes, independent push-rod suspension, OZ racing wheels and a Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox. None of these parts come cheap, but there is no word on price yet.

However any production run is likely to be strictly limited to less than 30 cars a year, depending on the level of interest from potential buyers at the show. Still, it will compete with small scales cars like the new Vuhl 005 and BAC Mono.