As an industry, automotive writers (including us) tend to overuse certain phrases. “Like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” for example. Well, a company called Sanrivatti, with help from a former executive from McLaren and Singer Vehicle Design, has made something that really is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
This is a new hypercar project that flips the script on car design. Forget about sitting in a nice, comfy carbon fiber seat. This car puts you face-first into the action. And we mean that literally.
Baby, You Could Ride My Car
Sanrivatti hypercar conceptSanrivatti
Have you ever watched the skeleton event at the Winter Olympics and thought, “it’d be cool to drive like that?” Or maybe you wanted a superbike (and Superman) experience with four wheels and an enclosed cabin? We have to imagine that similar thoughts were behind what Sanrivatti is calling The Apex Position. I case you haven’t figured it out yet, this proposed car isn’t driven like other cars.
The company asks, “What if the way we position the human body inside a high-performance car limits the connection between driver and machine?” In response, we have to ask our own question: What does a driver do to estimate power if the informal butt dyno is no longer in a seat? Actually, never mind. We don’t want that question answered.
Sanrivatti hypercar conceptSanrivatti
It looks silly, but company founder Santiago Sanchez Rivero has a point. “On a high-performance motorcycle, rider and machine move as one,” he said. “The connection is immediate, physical, and instinctive. Every movement of the body directly influences the experience; every change in balance, posture, and perception becomes part of the interaction. By contrast, even the world’s most capable performance cars frequently separate driver and machine through layers of architecture, packaging, systems technologies, and convention.”
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With the driver lying face down and forward, Sanrivatti says the Apex Position makes them “a more active participant.” It seems like it would be terrifying, but at least, unlike in a motorcycle, you have some actual vehicle and laminated glass in front of you.
The Feeling Of Speed No Matter How Fast
Sanrivatti hypercar conceptSanrivatti
It’s an interesting approach, going for a feeling of speed and connection over more actual speed. Since you can only drive so quickly on the road, there could be a lot of appeal. Especially in areas with hefty speed enforcement.
The car looks like a single-seater, McLaren-style with the driver sitting in the center. That’s probably for the best, because while we can see drivers wanting that sportsbike riding position, we can’t think of many people who would want to be their passenger.
Before founding Sanrivatti, Rivero was team principal of the Formula Student team at HAN University of Applied Sciences. According to his LinkedIn profile, he also had an internship with Donkervoort. But the company has some better-known names on board.
The company’s Executive Director of Technology Partnerships is Paul Arkesden, who was VP of Engineering at Singer, Head of Engineering at McLaren Special Operations, and leader of the P1 program. Geoff Dowding, a longtime former director at Bentley and Executive Director at Lotus, is on board as a Commercial Strategic Advisor.
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There are still a few things missing, like any information about a chassis or power. But this is a wild idea that could definitely bring something new to the table. The question on our minds, though, is whether new equals better. And that, dear friends, is the most important question of all.
