20.03.2011 SPADA TO UNVEIL ROADSTER VERSION OF THE CODATRONCA AT NEXT MONTH'S TOP MARQUES MONACO

SpadaVettureSport is set to unveil a "roadster" version of its Codatronca sports car at Top Marques Monaco next month, which will continue the company's pursuit of lighter weight coupled to impressive power and the exhilaration of track driving.

SPADA CODATRONCA TS
SPADA CODATRONCA TS
SPADA CODATRONCA TS

Based on a  Corvette the Codatronca's distinctive lines came from the pencils of Ercole and Paolo Spada, the guidelines of the project being: aerodynamics, lightness, and pleasure of driving.

SpadaVettureSport is set to unveil a "roadster" version of its Codatronca sports car at Top Marques Monaco next month, which will continue the company's pursuit of lighter weight coupled to impressive power and the exhilaration of track driving.

The new sports car will be called the "Codatronca Monza", although SpadaVettureSport is giving no information away so far except to say it will be "much faster and lighter [and is] is dedicated to the purism of driving on the track." Its fixed-roof sister, the Codatronca TS weighs in at 1360 kg and boasts 630 HP; with its use of an aluminium tubular chassis improving both figures for the roadster version is a strong likelihood.

Very little has been heard from SpadaVettureSport since it debuted the fixed-roof Codatronca TS at Top Marques Monaco almost exactly three years ago, a year after previewing the project. The company did however present the Codatronca at the Qatar Motor Show in January as part of a collective display organised by ANFIA which involved a number of specialist Italian niche automotive design and engineering companies including Pininfarina, Salt, Autostudi, Fioravanti, Touring Superleggera and Bertone.

Based on the Corvette's underpinnings the Codatronca distinctive lines came from the pencils of Ercole and Paolo Spada, the guidelines of the project being: aerodynamics, lightness, and pleasure of driving. The Codatronca TS used the Corvette's aluminium V8 engine fitted with a dry sump and it has maximum power of 630 HP at 6,500 rpm and peak torque of 668 Nm at 4,800 rpm. The power is transmitted to the ground through the rear wheels thanks to a 6-speed close ratio transmission with a specific range which in the 6th gear reaches the limit of 7,000 rpm to push the Codatronca to 340 km/h with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h of 3.4 seconds.

The designers focused on the imbuing the pleasure of driving, rather than pitching for speed records, in the style of the gentleman driver. To support that aspect of performance, the Codatronca is fitted with a traction control system that comes on in three levels, while to record the car’s data, the sports car has on-board equipment that can record 80 hours of telemetry on the track with 40 active channels (steering angle, G-meter longitudinal and lateral, individual speed for each tyre, a lap timer and GPS tracking system for track trajectories).

The chassis of the Codatronca comprises of a very light and stiff aluminium tubular framework with a roll cage combined to offer maximum protection when the sports car is driven on the track. The bodywork is made of a light and resistant fibre that covers the chassis and the mechanical parts. In the single impression of the forthcoming Codatronca Monza the fixed roofed car's distinctive glass-paneled engine cover as well as the cockpit roof and door window frames have all been dispensed with; instead there is a very small front windshield to deflect airflow and a lower positioned engine cover with two raised sections that span rearwards from the roll hoops. It is unclear whether the opening doors have been retained.

The Codatronca's suspension is fully adjustable while the front and rear anti-roll bars can be set up independently with four settings: rain, soft, medium and hard, with on-board regulation. The Codatronca has a length of 4659 mm, a width of 1942 mm and a height of 1235 mm, while the lightweight OZ wheels are shod with Pirelli Pzero Corsa tyres, in size 285/35/19 at the front and 345/35/19 at the back. The braking system is by Brembo with racing 8-pot aluminium calipers at the front with 380 mm discs and 4-pot caliper/355 mm discs at the rear, governed by ABS.
 

© 2011 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed