Bertone Mantide owner eyeing Corvette ZR1 Nürburgring record run?
Bertone Mantide – Click above for high-res image gallery
Some coachbuilt custom supercars are all show. But the owner of a Bertone Mantide is eager to prove that his has got the go to back up his show. Dan Watkins, the British gentleman-racer who bought the first Mantide, is so eager, in fact, that he's pondering personally financing a run at the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's Nürburgring lap record. And there's every reason to believe his car could reach that goal.
At 7 minutes, 26.4 seconds, the 2009 ZR1 holds the current lap record for a stock, street-legal, series production automobiles (excluding such track-focused machinery as the Viper ACR and Radical SR8). Nissan has its eyes on the ZR1 and is closing in fast, but as delicate and fragile as it may look, the Mantide arguably stands the best chance of besting the supercharged Vette's time – mostly because it's based on the ZR1. Only it's 80kg (176 pounds) lighter and 30% more aerodynamic, thanks to the improvements made to the body by Jason Castriota and his team at Stile Bertone.
To test the theory, Watkins is mulling renting out the 'Ring for three days, hiring an expert Nordschleife driver, and of course, donating the use of his $2 million supercar. All in pursuit of the ultimate bragging rights. If it happens, well, be watching.
Gallery: Bertone Mantide
[Source: PistonHeads]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Martin 3:07PM (7/08/2009)
My 2 million dollar car beat your 115k car!1!!!!1
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PumaGTO 4:25PM (7/08/2009)
And as Noah said, all in persuit for the ultimate bragging rights. Think about large male chicken...
Coolio 5:54PM (7/08/2009)
Yeah, when the 2 mm $ car is BASED on your $155 K car. Whatabunchacrapolia.
Eidolon 3:21PM (7/08/2009)
... That is one UGLY automobile.
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pmalik 3:22PM (7/08/2009)
Drive it off of Nordschleife cliff...
I'd be nicer to that ugly ass thing if wasn't preempted by 6 months of youtube douchebaggery.
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Kingcyrus 5:07PM (7/08/2009)
I might alone on this one, but this thing is sooooo sexy to me.
ntcougar7 3:46PM (7/08/2009)
Tragedy strikes,when the kit cars goes up in flames during the record attempt.
Lucky,no one got hurt.
nimeye 3:24PM (7/08/2009)
So the Viper ACR's time doesn't count but a $2 mil one-off kit car's time does?
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Aloysius Vampa 3:24PM (7/08/2009)
That's not the point he's trying to make. Read the first few sentences again.
Redline 3:45PM (7/08/2009)
Like his vehicle is a series production car.
sparrk 3:57PM (7/08/2009)
he will set a new world record , the fastest-small-production-Red-car based-on-the-fastest-series-production-car-that-was-ever-driven-between-3-and-5-pm (local time) on-the-'Ring-in-the-month-of-July-2009.
happyfun86 4:26PM (7/08/2009)
He's not trying to get his time to count. He just wants to beat the ZR1. You can beat a car around a track and not have it go into a specific record category, y'know.
habib 3:27PM (7/08/2009)
has anyone seen any pictures of the interior of that thing? Is it stock zr1? One would hope for $2mil it would get similar treatment as the Fisker Tramato (and the 6-series one, whatever the name of that thing is,) and get a full coachbuilt interior.
from the tinted windows, and lack of pictures of the inside, I'm not holding my breath... can you imagine spending $2mil on a car, and steering it with a corvette steering wheel?
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Danimal 3:31PM (7/08/2009)
http://www.didntyouhear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/mantideinterior.jpg
2004m3driver 8:29PM (7/08/2009)
Dude, no one is THAT stupid with their money to pay for a 2million dollar car with a chevy interior.
jon 3:28PM (7/08/2009)
This situation brings up an interesting proposition...
Just because you are capable of designing and building a car, doesn't mean you should design and build a car.
This thing is hideous. I am not just saying this to prove a point, but I would rather be seen in a Camry than this thing.
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adrenalnjunky 4:07PM (7/08/2009)
@jon
Let's not go to extremes here....
I mean, a Camry?
zamafir 4:21PM (7/08/2009)
@adrenalnjunky - maybe he's never been forced to own one?
jon 4:27PM (7/08/2009)
haha.. I am not going to extremes... If anything, I am leaving the extreme... ugliness
In a Camry, you blend in and no one notices you. In this... thing... you stand out like a sore thumb.
I just don't see how you can take something like a ZR1 (which is awesome in my opinion, minus the interior) and make something so non-awesome.
adrenalnjunky 5:50PM (7/08/2009)
was jus kiddin.