This Is The 12,000rpm V12 Nilu Hypercar

Monterey Car Week is just around the corner, and that means just one thing. Well, okay, it means several things, including an entire nation’s annual supply of oysters being consumed in a week. But it also means a stage for plenty of upstart boutique hypercar companies to make a big statement, and the latest to join that group is Nilu27.

Founded by Sasha Selipanov, an automotive designer with prior experience at Bugatti, Genesis and most recently, Koenigsegg, Nilu27 has been teasing its first product for months now, promising to deliver an analogue, driver-focused experience. Now, ahead of the car’s public unveiling next week, the floodgates have opened as we’ve finally seen it in full.

Nilu hypercar – side

Wild looking thing, isn’t it? Check out that front end which appears to have no lights at all until you realise they’re slender LEDs encircling those big air intakes. Its cab-forward profile and bubbly glass canopy with gullwing doors have something of a Group C racer about them. And if you think the front end’s minimalist, wait until you see the back, which is hardly there at all.

That’s to give you a better look at what’s going on under the skin. The centrepiece is a brand new, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12, designed by Hartley Engines in New Zealand. Free of turbocharging or electrification, Nilu27 wants it to be the most powerful naturally aspirated hypercar in the world, and says it delivers over 1000bhp.

Nilu hypercar – engine

We’re promised a howling 12,000rpm redline, achieved in part by giving the cylinders a wide bore and short stroke. It’s also equipped with 12 individual throttle bodies, for revvy throttle response and all of the good noises.

It gets a ‘hot vee’ setup – not the kind you’re thinking of, with turbochargers, but with the twisting exhaust manifold running over the top of the engine. Why? Because it looks cool, mainly, but it also aids heat extraction and packaging. Said exhaust system is 3D printed from Inconel, a material we don’t really understand but are assured makes for more excellent noises.

Nilu hypercar – interior

That engine is mated to a seven-speed manual gearbox, shifted via a delightful open gated arrangement. That’s not the only old-school interior fixture – there’s also a quartet of analogue dials, and a steering wheel which is – get this – round.

The suspension – also visible through that almost non-existent rear end – is a double wishbone pushrod setup, while stopping duties are handled by a Brembo carbon-ceramic system. All that power goes through Michelin PS Cup 2 R rubber.

Nilu hypercar – rear

Initially, a run of 15 will be built. It sounds like these won’t be road-legal, because the company says it’s working separately on a street-homologated version, of which 54 will be made.

The company’s so confident in this car that it hasn’t even bothered giving it a proper model name: it’s simply the Nilu hypercar. Nilu27, by the way, comes from combining Selipanov’s two daughters’ names, and the racing number of two of his favourite F1 drivers – Gilles Villeneuve and Jean Alesi. The more you know.