Sitting is overrated, new Sanrivatti hypercar reinvents the way you drive
New outfit Sanrivatti wants to build a hypercar that makes you feel like you’re riding a superbike
Of all the unfathomable, eyebrow-raising ideas we’ve seen in the world of cars, this could be the most insane: a hypercar with a previously unheard-of, legs-back driving position inspired by superbikes. To our eyes, it looks unbelievably uncomfortable but could they be on to something?
A fledgling outfit called Sanrivatti came up with the idea, which it calls the ‘Apex Position’. This is supposed to place the driver – who is going to have to be incredibly flexible, we think – “at the very centre of the hypercar experience”.
From what we can tell, Sanrivatti’s as-yet-unnamed creation doesn’t have any room for a passenger. But that’s probably a good thing, because they would have to go directly behind the driver, giving them a better view of the backside ahead than the road. We also don’t know what kind of controls the driver will have, pedals might be a challenge to incorporate.
Naturally, every new supercar or hypercar maker needs to have something special to gain any chance of standing out from Ferrari, Lamborghini and the rest of the establishment. Pagani set out to make V12-powered works of art and GMA promised the ultimate analogue driving experience. The goal for this new Dutch start-up is to deliver the most immersive and involving driving experience possible - in a car you ride like a horse.
The 23-year-old founder and CEO of Sanrivatti, Santiago Sánchez Rivero, explained the thinking behind the idea: “On a high-performance motorcycle, rider and machine move as one. The connection is immediate, physical and instinctive.”
He continued, “For me, the question was never how to create more power or more speed. The question was how to create a deeper connection between driver and machine.”
Sanrivatti claims it is developing proprietary technologies that will enable the driver to move more naturally with the vehicle, “helping to create a heightened sense of awareness, superior balance, and enhanced connection during acceleration, braking and cornering”. A working prototype is also helping the company understand the posture, control and other aspects of how the Apex Position will work in real-world conditions.
So far, Sanrivatti hasn’t released any other details about its radical speed machine, including what engine it’ll have or if it’ll be allowed on the road, but has promised more information will follow in the coming months.
In the meantime, it has built up a team which includes expertise from Lotus, Bentley and McLaren. Paul Arkesden, Sanrivatti's executive director of technology partnerships, was previously Singer’s head of engineering and project leader for the McLaren P1.
“What attracted me to Sanrivatti was the originality of the thinking behind it,” said Arkesden. “The automotive industry has become incredibly effective at refining established ideas, however, opportunities to explore genuinely new perspectives are much rarer.”
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