Novitec Rosso Reveals New TuLesto Supercar to Celebrate 20th Anniversary

The Novitec TuLesto hopes to be a supercar that's a little more subtle than some of those Frankensteinian monsters made up of a few muscle parts stapled together. Afterall, Novitec is a Ferrari tuner and is celebrating its 20th anniversary with this car. Oddly enough, though, in the press release on the TuLesto, Novitec doesn't say if or how much Ferrari content is in this thing. So we will have to wait for more details on that before we draw any conclusions.

What we do know is that the TuLesto was designed with the help of Luca Serafini Stile, a design studio in Modena, Italy, and is built at Novitec's plant in Stetten, Germany in the province of Bavaria. It is a two-seater with a rear-mounted engine and...well, it looks a lot like a Ferrari.

The engine is a 4.4 liter V8 with twin superchargers with an output of 777 hp (at 8,200 rpm) and 727 Nm of torque (6,300 rpm) coupled to a 6-speed, semi-automatic gearbox featuring an anti-slip differential. Weighing in at a mere 1,260 kg, it sports a whopping 1.62 kg/hp weight to power ratio. 0 to 100 km/h is 3.4 seconds and in 22.6 seconds the TuLesto is already humming along at 300 km/h (186 mph), still a jogger's pace for a car with a top speed of more than 350 km/h (217 mph).

A first-rate suspension with double-wishbones front and rear and adjustable damping rates is guaranteed to make the ride tight and smooth. And if you need to clear a speed bump without holding your breath, one need only push a button to raise the car by 4 cm.

Aside from the use of carbon fiber, aluminum and the ultra-light alloy 20 or 21-inch wheels to keep weight down, the inside of the cabin also features a carbon fiber finish on the dash, door paneling and central console.

Want one? Well, they're only making 11 of them for "long-time customers," so have a look here...and that's it.

Press Release

NOVITEC TuLesto with 777 hp and a Top Speed of More than 350 km/h

 The World's Most Exclusive High-End Sports Car

There are many fascinating automobiles money can buy but its spectacular design, its uncompromising high-performance concept and its limited edition of just eleven cars make the new NOVITEC TuLesto the most exclusive high-end sports car in the world.

The mid-engine racer is 204 centimeters wide and weighs in at just 1,260 kilograms. It is built by German automobile manufacturer NOVITEC in Stetten in Bavaria. At the heart of the two-seater is a V8 engine with dual superchargers and a rated power output of 777 hp / 571.8 kW. Thanks to its carbon fiber and aluminum construction the coupe has an excellent power-to-weight ratio of just 1.62 kg/hp. The result is driving performance that only very few super sports cars can match: The sprint from rest to 100 km/h takes less than 3.4 seconds, and the NOVITEC TuLesto reaches 300 km/h after just 22.6 seconds. Top speed is more than 350 km/h.

The new high-end sports car represents NOVITEC's first proprietary car and marks the company's 20th anniversary. "With the NOVITEC TuLesto we transform our collective know-how from two decades of automobile tuning into an uncompromising high-performance sports car for eleven of our long-time customers from around the world," says NOVITEC managing director Wolfgang Hagedorn. "The TuLesto offers an optimal symbiosis of exceptional driving dynamics and exciting yet aerodynamically efficient styling."

Light-weight construction was one of the main goals from the very start of the project. The designers' materials of choice are normally found in racecars. The chassis and the integrated safety cell are made entirely from aluminum, making them extremely light while at the same time giving them extraordinary rigidity.

The striking design of the sports car is the result of a cooperation between NOVITEC and the Italian design studio Luca Serafini Stile in Modena. The unmistakable shape of the TuLesto was created using state-of-the-art CAD and CFD technologies, further augmented by the use of the wind tunnel. The TuLesto is 462 centimeters long, 204 centimeters wide and has a height of 122 centimeters.

The spectacular curves of the fenders, the front apron, the shape of the rear and the smooth underbody with integrated venturi tunnel and diffuser were calibrated in the wind tunnel to create an optimal aerodynamic balance.

For perfect weight distribution the NOVITEC TuLesto was designed with a classic mid-engine layout. The 4.4-liter four-valve V8 engine with dual superchargers is installed directly behind the cockpit. The high-tech engine produces a maximum power output of 777 hp / 571.8 kW at 8,200 rpm and a peak torque of 727 Nm at 6,300 rpm.

Motorsports was also the inspiration for the power transfer: The six gears of the semi-automatic gearbox with integrated anti-slip differential are shifted with carbon-fiber paddles behind the steering wheel. An adjustable traction control system with launch control for perfect starts guarantees maximum driving safety on the road and on the track.

The NOVITEC engineers and technicians also used racing technology on the suspension: As in GT-series racing, the TuLesto features double-wishbone suspension front and rear, height-adjustable struts with various selectable damping rates, and adjustable sway bars. For easy negotiating of underground parking ramps or similar obstacles the TuLesto front can be raised four centimeters at the push of a button. The anti-lock braking system features ceramic composite discs and six-piston fixed calipers front and back for maximum stopping power and endurance.

Another elementary contribution to the superior driving dynamics of the NOVITEC TuLesto comes from its ultra-light light-alloy wheels with diameters of 20 or 21 inches. These wheels were custom-developed for this coupe and are fitted with semi slicks up to 355 millimeters wide on the rear axle.

The interior design has a decidedly sporty nature but also offers creature comforts such as a climate-control system and a high-end sound system. Lightweight carbon fiber plays a dominating role in the interior as well: It is used for dashboard, center console and door trim as well as for the bucket seats which will be custom-fitted in form, shape, size, color and upholstery to each of the eleven future owners.