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With so many pedigreed supercars around, it’s hard to break into the game as a startup that no one has heard of. But while it doesn’t have decades of backstory or a famous name at the helm, Netherlands-based Sanrivatti does have something unique: You won’t sit in the company’s planned supercar. You’ll straddle it.
Sanrivatti has devised what it calls the “Apex Position,” a motorcycle-style seating position the company claims will combine with proprietary tech to give the driver a “heightened sense of awareness, superior balance, and enhanced connection during acceleration, braking, and cornering.” It’s all about making the driver feel more connected with what the car is doing, Sanrivatti boss Santiago Sánchez Rivero said in an interview with Top Gear.
Sanrivatti
“On a high-performance motorcycle, rider and machine move as one,” Rivero said. “By contrast, even the world’s most capable performance cars frequently separate driver and machine through layers of architecture, packaging, systems technologies, and convention.”
Exactly how Sanrivatti will achieve this higher level of connection is unclear. The company talks of “immersive ergonomics” and “controls designed around natural human movement.” And according to Top Gear, it counts veterans of McLaren, Lotus, Bentley, and Singer among its staff. But no details of the car’s construction or powertrain, or even a firm reveal date, have been disclosed so far.
Sanrivatti
Sanrivatti
Other companies have tried to replicate the feel of a motorcycle with more wheels, but by focusing on the way bikes lean into corners rather than the seating position. Also hailing from the Netherlands, Carver was founded in 1994 and went bankrupt in 2024, but in between, it produced a three-wheeler with a pair of conventional seats placed in line. A proprietary control system allowed the extra-narrow vehicle to lean when cornering without toppling. The Mercedes-Benz F400 Carving concept of 2001 was a more conventional four-wheeled roadster that achieved a similar effect by adjusting its wheels’ camber.
As far as providing an unfiltered driving experience, the Ariel Atom and BAC Mono don’t exactly coddle and isolate their drivers. And there are plenty of actual motorcycles (and three-wheelers) for people who want a more raw experience. It may not be necessary, but Sanrivatti will be able to say it has something nobody else does, and something that makes a center-seat McLaren F1 or Czinger 21C look normal. Given the number of choices supercar buyers already have, that may be as important to the company’s success as the engineering.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
