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I was interested in Kris Culmer’s retrospective about Franco Sbarro and his amazing cars (Lost in the archive, 5 February).
My interest in Sbarro goes back many years and several visits to his workshop and ‘hall d’exposition’. His fresh approach to car design was completely different from many others in the field.
I recall a Volkswagen Golf with a hinged floor that gained access to a Porsche Turbo engine and a replica Bugatti Royale with two Rover 3.5 engines in tandem replicating the 16 cylinders of the original. He also specialised in other replicas: BMW 328, Mercedes-Benz 540K, Ford GT40, Lola T70 and Ferrari P4.
The 1977 Function Car, based on a Cadillac Eldorado 8.2 FWD, complete with lounge and living areas, was at one point bought by a musician who proposed to have a piano installed under its extended high roof for a European tour.
About a dozen Mercedes-Benz 500 SECs with gull-winged doors were built, each varying according to the customer’s requirements.
Without doubt Sbarro’s most sensational engineering was the hubless wheel, originally on the Orbital Hybrid concept car and later on a Jaguar V12-engined super-coupé and motorcycles.