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VERITAS RS III Roadster ready for production
2010 Veritas RS III - Click above for high-res image gallery
After an eight-year buildup, the Veritas RS III has finally slithered into series production in Grafschaft-Gelsdorf, Germany. Just like the Dutch firm Spyker, Vermot AG has resurrected the post-war German racing marque that sold a few road-going versions of their racers to a handful of lucky enthusiasts. Now, the new company is doing less racing and more street scorching, and the RS III is its first foray into the world of production cars.
In Monterey this past August, we caught our first glimpse of the finally-ready-for-production Veritas RS III. With its newly revised front end (now with 50 percent more serpent!) it looks even more like a BMW Z8 on acid. Which is totally appropriate, because this retro rocketsled is powered by the same 5.0-liter V10 engine found in the M5 supersedan. With 500 hp propelling a scant 2,400 pounds, the 30
That's Enzo-like performance for an Enzo-like price, but it offers ten times the exclusivity -- not to mention Veritas started operating the same year as Enzo Ferrari in 1947. The difference is that this serpent lay dormant for almost 50 years, getting ready to strike. Vermot has released a slew of new photos and additional details about the car, which you can find in the press release after the jump.
Gallery: 2010 Veritas RS III
[Source: Veritas]
Press Release
The Veritas RS III. A dream sports car goes into production.
The premium manufacturer in Grafschaft-Gelsdorf has only 15 employees. However, with this staff, the company has successfully built a special type of super sports car.
The facts: V10 cylinder, 507 hp, 347 km/h and a breathtaking design – any other questions? Maybe the price?
Veritas RS III goes into series production
Grafschaft-Gelsdorf. The Veritas RS III Roadster super sports car, which has been presented to the public as a prototype over the past year and which immediately won the public award of "Best Super Car 2009" at London's Salon Privé, is now going into series production. However, the words "series production" are not entirely true. Firstly, the series comprises a strictly limited batch of only 30 vehicles and secondly, every single vehicle will undergo sophisticated hand production by manufacturer Vermot AG in Gelsdorf.
Even before the actual start of production, five of the 30 luxury cars have already been sold – to Monaco, Australia, Great Britain, Spain and Switzerland. Eight more are reserved and over 100 enquiries have been received. In Gelsdorf, it is therefore expected that the entire edition will have sold out even before the end of the year.
The manufacturer's 15 staff install the chassis, bodywork and interior at three workstations. The production of one of the classic 1+1-seaters – with a covered passenger seat that can be opened if required – takes eight weeks, although three cars are built in parallel at one time. Production runs according to the strictest "Made in Germany" quality standards. Furthermore, the vehicles are fully homologated to EU standard. Delivery to the customers will start in January 2010.
An exceptional design concept
"Even at first sight, the Veritas RS III convinces customers with a design that combines futuristic and classical elements and thereby produces an unmistakable overall impression," says Vermot AG chief designer Michael Söhngen. "In the end, what counts for the design of a good sports car are the proportions and we have placed great emphasis on these," Söhngen continues. The typical shark's mouth and aggressive looking Xenon twin headlights, tapered inward-contoured side sills, and the flat tail with the two central stainless steel tailpipes pointing upward contrast with the asymmetric roll bar integrated into the bodywork on the driver's side. A rear-view mirror extending into the centre of the vehicle, riveted or chrome-plated bodywork elements, and the distinctive jagged taillights emphasise the exceptional design concept.
The Dunlop tyres – 325/25 at the rear and 255/30 at the front – and the 12.5 and 10.5 inch wide, 22-inch, five-point star, drop centre rims – as well as the extremely low vehicle height of only 97 cm – ensure a firm hold on the road. All this comes with a height-adjustable special sports chassis tested on the north loop of the Nürburgring, as lovers of this untamed bolide generally appreciate that "true race feeling". Slightly more cautious drivers can, however, engage ABS and TCS.
The technical specifications are a testament to the high demands. The new Veritas, of which the legendary predecessors celebrated numerous racing successes in the 50s and were the first German team to take part in Formula I, now accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3.2 seconds – this alone will make the hearts of automobile enthusiasts beat faster.
The 4.68 metre long and 2.02 metre wide monster, which has already made a splash in Monte Carlo, in Spa, and on the "ring" is powered by a 5.0 litre V10 BMW engine with 7-speed SMG transmission or – optionally – with manual 6-speed transmission. With an engine speed of 7,500 rpm and a power-weight ratio of 2.9 kg/kW, the RS III achieves a top performance of 373 kW (507 hp) and thus a top speed of 347 km/h.
The complete bodywork comprises an ultra-light carbon racing skin and is produced in a Formula I forge. In addition to the 4-point H-type seatbelts, a tube frame developed by the Vermot AG engineers guarantees occupants the highest level of passive safety on their modified Recaro full bucket seats. A new braking system from Brabham Racing provides for deceleration: six 380 mm pistons at the front and four 355 mm pistons at the back forcefully slow the entire weight before the ceramic disk brakes abruptly bring the wheels to a standstill – until the next kick start.
Extensive test drives were conducted a few days ago at the legendary Brands Hatch racetrack in Great Britain. "It is now about constantly improving the car and finding the optimum fine tuning. Brands Hatch was a complete success and we are very happy with the result," says Vermot AG CEO Michael Trick. Initial customer test drives have also been conducted in the context of the track days – an illustrious rendezvous of customers and potential buyers, who have met on the racetrack in England and showed themselves to be thoroughly impressed.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
sm0ke 3:03PM (10/19/2009)
Will that be in the new transformers movie...cuz i looks like it should!
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Hellas 3:14PM (10/19/2009)
+1
Torrent 3:09PM (10/19/2009)
Do you know how much better this car would look if it had a roof? And didnt eerily resemble a penis?
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LaserRed38 3:12PM (10/19/2009)
Looks more like some kind of insect to me. But I second the roof comment. Make a proper coupe out of this and it would be gorgeous.
JimBob 4:01PM (10/19/2009)
You need to get that checked out bud!
James 6:20PM (10/19/2009)
Veritas is mean looking as it is..though tame compared to the evil faced Mitsuoka Orochi.
Mark 3:24PM (10/19/2009)
The headlights are the only cool thing about this car.
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paul34 3:14PM (10/19/2009)
I'll admit - I loled when I saw that furrowed, close-eyed face angrily grinning at me
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Clavius 3:18PM (10/19/2009)
This car just looks like a angry fish themed hotwheels car.
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gadvrules9000 3:20PM (10/19/2009)
Why so angry?
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larry raines 3:23PM (10/19/2009)
This is a joke, right?
Angry fish car?
I think I saw this on Top Gear and Hammond kept breaking the rears loose and doing doughnuts every time he went around a corner.
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larry raines 3:27PM (10/19/2009)
why do the tail pipes come out of the top of the back if the motor is in the front?
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TonyInMI 3:28PM (10/19/2009)
ANGRY WHOPPER!
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FSM 3:33PM (10/19/2009)
I wonder why they didn't put the seat in the middle of the car?
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aooga 3:54PM (10/19/2009)
I always wanted to be force fed bugs.
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Chubaka 4:04PM (10/19/2009)
Looks like it needs some sleep...its eyes are so bloodshot.
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anonymous j 4:04PM (10/19/2009)
this car looks like its on crack
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kepone 4:50PM (10/19/2009)
LOL, imagine doing 215 mph in THAT thing!
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Zekaric 11:37AM (10/20/2009)
Imagine being hit in the face by a bug doing 215 Mph in that thing... There are other reasons to wear a helmet.
PG 4:55PM (10/19/2009)
CAR ANGRY! CAR WANT EAT YOUR BABIES!
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