New NILU V12 hypercar coming soon from ex-Koenigsegg design boss

It seems Ferrari, Lamborghini and Gordon Murray aren’t the only ones fighting to keep the V12 alive. The former head of design for Koenigsegg and Bugatti, Sasha Selipanov, has launched his own hypercar brand, Nilu27, and will be using a naturally aspirated V12 engine to power its first wild creation. 

Slightly confusingly, said car is called the NILU, but no matter. The Nilu27 NILU hypercar, with its gloriously analogue engine, will be unveiled on 15 August during the 2024 Monterey Car Week in California, 17 years after Selipanov started thinking about the project.

The brief teaser video shared by Nilu27 on social media also gives us a taste of the NILU’s soundtrack, and shows us that Selipanov hasn’t held back with the design, either.

The rear suspension components are fully exposed for everyone to enjoy, while the spoiler curves around a tri-tip exhaust pipe. Below that is an intimidating diffuser with an F1-style fog light in the centre, and we can see that the car will feature a set of gullwing doors. All those elements remind us of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, which is no bad thing.

Technical details about the engine, and the entire powertrain for that matter, remain under wraps for now. It’s unlikely to be part of a hybrid setup like the Valkyrie’s, however, as the Nilu27 brand is apparently “unfazed by digitalization, electrification and other distractions, we’re focusing on the ultimate automotive experience with a healthy dose of ‘holy s***’ mixed in for good measure.”

Nilu27’s mission statement is to build cars that are “in equal measure beautiful and brutal”, and despite only being established this year, it already has plans for an entire line-up of models that it will introduce over the next decade.

You may not have heard the name Sasha Selipanov before, but you’ll certainly be familiar with his previous work. His career began in the Volkswagen Group where he contributed to the design of the Lamborghini Huracan, among other projects, before taking on the role of Bugatti’s head of exterior design.

During his time in Molsheim, Selipanov penned the Bugatti Chiron, as well as the hardcore Vision Gran Turismo and much more elegant 2015 Atlantic concepts. After that he worked for Hyundai’s luxury spin-off Genesis creating show cars like the adorable Mint concept. 

Selipanov became the head of design for Koenigsegg in 2019, where he was responsible for the CC850 – an homage to the Swedish brand’s first car, the CC8S – and the Gemera four-seat hypercar.

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