A Fornasari for Fast Off-Roading

CREAZZO, Italy — One of the most outrageous creations in a country well known for stretching the boundaries of the automotive design was Lamborghini's legendary — and short-lived — luxury off-roader, the LM002.

Now comes another Italian firm with another high-performance SUV that appears to be equally provocative.
Giuseppe Fornasari began building his own cars in 1999, after importing racing Corvettes from the States. (His father, Gigi, raced for Maserati and Alfa in the '50s.) His latest effort is the RR600, a five-passenger utility vehicle that traces its heritage to the Corvette.
Fornasari starts with a lightweight chrome-molybdenum tube chassis and adds suspension bits from Proflex and Ohlins. Standard wheels and tires are 20 inches, but customers can order up to 23-inch rims and rubber.
The prime motivator is a built-to-spec Chevy 6.0-liter V8 that delivers 610 horsepower and 552 pound-feet of torque. The engine sends power to all four wheels through a viscous center diff and either a Borg-Warner six-speed manual or a Hydra-matic four-speed automatic transmission.
A carbon-Kevlar body helps keep the weight down to a modest 3638 pounds, thus enhancing performance.
Fornasari claims 0-60-mph acceleration takes less than 3.8 seconds, while top speed exceeds 174 mph.Interiors are handcrafted to the customer's personal specifications.
For more information, see the Fornasari Cars Web site.

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