Sbarro Challenge I
Franco Sbarro is primarily famous for the conversions, prototypes and replicas that he built in his own factory from 1971 onwards. In 1992 Sbarro founded a college for car design and construction.
For those who like wedge-shaped cars, this is the ultimate treat. No concessions have been made to this form – its line is uninterrupted. The Swiss designer Franco Sbarro wanted to demonstrate in 1985 that such a design could result in a very low drag coefficient. In this case it was 0.26.
Interior and exterior mirrors have been eliminated, but there is a camera in the rear which projects images of the traffic behind the car onto two screens in the doors. The car is also equipped with, for its time, an ultra-modern audio system with a graphic equaliser and CD player, as well as a video recorder.
The Challenge I was equipped with a Mercedes-Benz engine, if only to prove that the car could be a viable production model. The headlights are reminiscent of the Ford GT40, which also happens to be one of Sbarro’s favourite cars.