Belgian niche manufacturer Gillet has introduced the Vertigo .5 at the Brussels Auto Salon, a sportscar that representing the fifth edition of the Alfa Romeo Arese V6-powered two-seater exotic.

Belgian sports car manufacturer Gillet has introduced the Vertigo .5 at the Brussels Auto salon this week, the latest incarnation of the theme representing the fifth edition of the Alfa Romeo Arese V6-powered two-seater exotic.

The new Vertigo celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Belgian marque. The design of the rear has only been slightly changed, however the front has been completely redeveloped. The design updates were created by 70-year-old Charles Van Den Bosch, designer of the original Vertigo. The changes were initially employed in 2007 on the Vertigo FIA GT car, before being introduced on this latest production model.

The Vertigo is constructed from exotic materials, with the chassis made from carbon fibre and honeycomb structure. The construction technologies are borrowed directly from Formula One, ensuring great strength and resistance, whilst at the same time offering an extremely light weight. The total weight of the bare chassis is a mere 58kg.

Gillet is Belgium’s most renowned domestic car manufacturer and was founded in 1994 by Tony Gillet, a famous Belgian racing driver holding national hillclimb championship titles for several consecutive years. Gillet also built and campaigned vehicles during two editions of the gruelling Paris-Dakar rally and in 1982 became the Belgian importer for Dutch sports car manufacturer Donkervoort.

It was with a specially-modified Donkervoort that Gillet broke the 0-100 km/h acceleration record in January 1990, taking just 3.85 seconds. More recently, the Vertigo held the 0-100 km/h acceleration record time for production cars, taking just 3.1 seconds.

The first Vertigo prototype was completed in 1991 and was unveiled at the 1992 Brussels Auto Salon. Two years followed before the prototype was finalised for production, before also being displayed at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show and 1993 Paris Salon de l’Automobile. Only around 25 Gillet Vertigos have been sold worldwide, however the Gillet name has recently been promoted through featuring in video games such as GranTurismo.

Gillet is also currently rumoured to be developing a new racing car for the FIA GT 2008 championship, using a Maserati GranSport Light V8 as the basis.

by James Granger