Isotta Fraschini has become arguably the first Hypercar category builder to launch a road-going version of an FIA WEC top-class racer.
The Tipo 6 Stradale follows on from the LMH-spec Competizione and track-only Pista versions of the Michelotto-designed machine.
The launch of the new car comes as official ACO and WEC social media channels confirmed for the first time this week that the Isotta Fraschini will feature on the full-season entry for the 2024 FIA WEC.
The Tipo 6 Stradale was launched with a road trip from the centre of Milan to San Remo. The journey featured the extraordinary sights of a track-bred hypercar dealing with everything from city traffic, the autostrada, toll booths and long queues proved to be an attention-grabbing opportunity for the nascent reborn marque.
The single seater Tipo 6 LMH Strada features a 750 HP HWA-developed Isotta Fraschini 3-litre 90-degree V6 single-turbo engine, coupled to a sophisticated hybrid system capable of adding another 270 HP in a sub 1000 kg package!
“The emotions that you can experience when driving such a racing car have no equivalent in other road cars,” declared Alessandro Fassina, president of Isotta Fraschini, “and it was precisely the goal we wanted to achieve.”
The car has a price starting from 3,250,000 Euros.
The Isotta is the first road-going version of a current hypercar seen ‘in the carbon’, in completed roadworthy form. Though other FIA WEC manufacturers have been evaluating and working on similar race-car-to-road-car projects in recent years.
Toyota planned to sell a road version of the GR010 initially. The prototype car appeared at Le Mans in 2020, but the programme was later cancelled.
Glickenhaus plans to build road versions of the SCG 007 LMH and told DSC recently that the first cars are in build.
Colin Kolles’ Vanwall concern showed a prototype road version of the Vandervell 680 car, though this was clearly a re-clad race chassis. The road car has not been seen since.
Ferrari’s 499P Modificata is very firmly a track-only version of its Le Mans-winning LMH.
Peugeot has shown no inclination to offer a road version of the 9X8, despite the fact that publicity the brand included it on the vehicle configurator screen of Peugeot’s corporate car sales website!
Finally, Aston Martin, which is set to join the fray in 2025 with a race version of the Valkyrie, sits at the opposite end of the scale.
The Valkyrie road car was launched literally years ahead of the LMH race programme, which has been revived and is on course for a 2025 FIA WEC debut. However, the track only AMR Pro version of the Valkyrie is also (quite literally) already on-track!
