An insane 16-cylinder, 1200hp hypercar is currently being proposed for development in Australia and is the brain child of entrepreneur Paul Halstead. The 67-year-old has made his money in the IT business and is no novice when it comes to creating very special and unique sports cars.
In the 1980’s, Halstead created a unique Australian supercar dubbed the Giocattolo which managed to hit the production line with 15 units being created before production was cancelled due to poor sales. Nevertheless, the Giocattolo was quite an impressive automobile featuring a mid-mounted V8, Kevlar body panels and suspension designed by Barry Lock who was a pivotal engineer in the McLaren F1.
Halstead’s design and engineering firm, HAL, has now turned its attention to creating a 21st century hypercar and the Australian company has some insane plans. It hopes to use two 7.0-liter LS7 V8 engines mounted together at 45-degrees therefore creating a 14.0-liter W16 engine. HAL hopes that rather than merging the internals of these engines to create a single crankshaft like the Veyron, this hypercar will feature a transfer case allowing the two crankshafts to be mated to a six-speed sequential transmission.
When it’s all said and done, that massive powerplant could produce around 1,200hp with all that power being sent straight through the rear wheels. The new HAL hypercar would then feature a carbon fiber tub and a carbon fiber and Kevlar body.
A couple of official renderings of the car have also been released, which showcase a central seating position and Maserati-inspired styling. Looking from the front, the HAL hypercar seems to have been inspired by the Maserati GranTurismo and the Maserati Birdcage concept.
[Via Motor Authority]
