Remember the Bertone Mantide? Yes – that insane looking car based on the Corvette ZR1. Well, it seems like owner Dan Watkins wants to take his Mantide to the Nurburgring and pin it up against the 7:26.4 Nurburgring lap time of the Corvette ZR1 itself.

According to Jason Castriota, Bertone’s chief designer, Watkins is really excited to take his new supercar to the Nurburgring.

“It has been a dream of mine from the outset of this project,” Jason told PistonHeads. ”The logistics are not easy, as we’ll need to hire a professional driver – somebody who’s truly a Nurburgring expert like Stefan Roser – and then get the circuit closed for a few days.”

The Bertone Mantide is powered by an LS9 engine making a total of 638-hp, which allows for a 0 to 62 mph time of just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph.

Bertone Mantide:

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: PistonHeads

It will obviously set you aside from the crowd and will definitely turn heads when you drive it down the street. However, the Bertone Mantide will cost you a whopping $2 million according to creator Jason Castriota. Who’s going to by a $2 million car that has the underpinnings of the Corvette ZR1 when they can just go for the $104,920 Corvette ZR1 itself?

“The project has an anonymous benefactor, but it is in fact for sale either as a singular example, or with the possibility of building an extremely limited series,” Castriota said in an e-mail message to the Wheels blog of New York Times.

He said that Bertone may build only three or five units of the Mantide, though it “would not rule out producing as many as 10.”

The Bertone Mantide is powered by an LS9 engine making a total of 638-hp, which allows for a 0 to 62 mph time of just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph.

Make the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Bertone Mantide:

- By: Kap Shah

Source: Wheels

Stile Bertone has finally revealed his Project M car as the one-off Betrone Mantide.

The Bertone Mantide features the underpinnings of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 wrapped in radical Stile Bertone aerospace inspired design.

The LS9 engine gives the Mantide a total 638-hp. However, with a significant drop in weight with carbon fiber body panels, interior trim, seats and even the wheels, the Mantide promises better performance than the ZR1 itself. 0 to 62 mph is said to come in just 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 217 mph.

You can check out the video, high-res images and the press release after the jump.

Bertone Mantide:

Bertone Mantide Video:

Press Release:

Stile Bertone is proud to present the ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE one-off MANTIDE.

Few, if any, automobiles have been as awe-inspiring as the show-stopping prototypes and “fuori serie” cars designed by Stile Bertone – the Alfa Romeo Carabo, the Lancia Stratos Zero and the Lamborghini LP500 prototype to name just a few

TRADITION

Stile Bertone has a long history of creating one-off prototypes based on the mechanicals of Chevrolet’s sporting automobiles spanning over 50 years. Today, Stile Bertone is proud to utilize the mechanicals of the formidable 2009 Corvette ZR1. Employing know-how from the Le Mans winning Corvette C5R, the ZR1 is the greatest all-round performance car in the world, the undisputed “King of the Ring”, posting the fastest ever lap time for a true production car at 7:26:4 seconds on the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, long considered the benchmark for a car’s true performance. Mantide has been designed and fully engineered in collaboration with the renowned Danisi Engineering and aims to be the world’s greatest street legal performance car, wrapped in an iconic and radical Stile Bertone design.

Mantide’s futuristic design draws equal inspiration from modern aerospace and the world of Formula One. The iconic theme is clear to see: a teardrop-like fuselage which tightly encases the mechanicals and the passenger cell which is embraced by two prominent wrapping aerodynamic appendages. While shockingly bold and technical, Mantide’s unique design maintains a sensuality unique to Italian sports cars thanks to a futuristic interpretation of the classic Kamm Back two volume silhouette.

The aerospace inspired design aesthetic is further characterised by innovative yet beautiful forms which are fully driven by performance: the low-slung nose, jet fighter style teardrop canopy and butterfly opening doors, as well as the numerous air inlets and exhausts for maximum air efficiency.

Mantide also boasts cutting edge aerodynamic performance fine-tuned in an advanced full scale wind tunnel. Features include a Le Mans prototype-derived flat floor and diffuser as well as “flying buttresses” which help to increase aero efficiency, guarantee a lower drag coefficient and greater levels of down force. The final aerodynamic results are class leading, with drag reduced by 25% (Cd 0.298) and a 30% improvement in down force. The Mantide not only delivers greater speed and stability, but also more efficiency and therefore lower fuel consumption.

The Mantide promises even greater performance than the ZR1, due to significant weight savings and its highly advanced aerodynamics. Using carbon fibre for all body panels, interior trim, seats and even the wheels, the overall vehicle weight has been reduced by 100 kilos. The result is a staggering 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 351 kph (217mph) Safety and chassis rigidity have been increased with the incorporation of an FIA regulation triangulated roll cage, light-weight carbon fibre racing seats and 4pt racing harness for track use.

Stile Bertone invites you to follow Mantide on its year-long journey as it travels to major auto events around the globe at www.insideprojectm.com

By: Kap Shah

Source: Bertone (via Jalopnik)