Last year, almost to the day, we posted a story about a brand new Italian supercar. It wasn’t built by a known manufacturer like Ferrari, Lamborghini or Pagani but an upstart company named Mazzanti.

The name may not have the kudos of the aforementioned carmakers, but 38-year old Luca Mazzanti’s creation, the Evantra, was much more exclusive, since it would be produced in only five examples.

It also had the specs to scare some of them as it sported an aluminum or carbon fiber bodywork and a 3.5-liter flat-six that came in naturally-aspirated or twin-turbocharged flavors, with 403 and 603HP respectively.

In the months that passed, Luca decided to update the Evantra. In terms of design, the most notable change is the new rear wing, while the chassis sports two new chrome-molibden rollcages – one under the roof and one that connects the engine to the suspension hard points, enhancing rigidity.

The most important difference, though, is that the flat-six of the first Evantra has been replaced by a 7.0-liter V8 with 701HP and 625 lb-ft (846 Nm) of torque that are good enough for a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 3.2 seconds.

“I am really proud to present the Evantra V8”, said Mazzanti. “With her, an enormous work is finished, one which mainly focused on conciliating elements difficult to harmonize to each other: a personal concept that is absolutely out of today’s market trends, a really precise and typically Italian stylistic identity and a powertrain with “absolute” performance are perfectly united in forms and function. The Evantra V8 was not born to please everyone, instead to be herself and to generate emotions with her character and exclusivity”.

The engine is made out of aluminum and features an 11.0:1 compression ratio, a dry sump and titanium valves and connecting rods.

Power is directed to the rear wheels via a robotized paddle shift gearbox developed by transmission company Sila especially for the Evantra and the wheels are sourced from OZ, measure 20 inches in diameter and are wrapped in Continental 255/30 and 304/25 tired front and rear respectively.

Braking is taken care of Brembo 380 mm discs with 6-piston calipers up front and 360 mm discs with 4-piston calipers at the rear, while carbon-ceramic discs are an option.

As with the previous version, customers of the Elantra V8 get to tailor the cabin according to their own tastes. As it is, it is covered in soft aniline leather, though Mazzanti says that there are “infinite” options in terms of materials.

The instrument cluster, which is basically a racing-spec data acquisition system, is based on the top of the center console, and the driver gets only a gear indicator integrated on the Nardi steering wheel boss.

There’s also a Bosch infotainment system that includes audio and navigation, while on the lower part of the center console there’s a round selector through which the driver can shuffle between the “Strada” or “Corsa” modes for the engine and gearbox settings.

By Andrew Tsaousis

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