Vencer Sarthe
A Dutch-built Group C racer for the road? Go on, we’re listening
T
hirty-eight-year-old Dutch
entrepreneur Robert Cobben
was just a teenager when
he went to Le Mans for the
first time in the mid-’80s. Back then,
the mighty Porsche 956s and Silk Cut
Jaguars ruled the roost at La Sarthe
(as it’s known amongst the locals).
From that moment, when he saw those
prototypes howling down the straight,
he knew he would try and build a road
car that captured their spirit. Twenty-
five years later and here it is: the
appropriately named Vencer Sarthe.
In the raw, the Sarthe looks
spectacular. It’s long, wide and low, just
like a supercar should be. But it’s also
distinctive and intriguing because its
proportions are so unfamiliar.
Beneath the Sarthe’s Le Mans-
inspired carbonfibre bodywork lives a
Hennessey-tuned 6.3-litre V8 engine
from GM, featuring bespoke heads and
a supercharger to provide 457kW and
838Nm. The V8 is mated to a Ricardo
six-speed manual gearbox – the first
clue this beast lacks the same electronic
trickery of contemporary supercars.
It purposely eschews all the electronics
you’d find in fellow Ferraris, Porsches
and McLarens. It’s “a road car that ispure to drive and isn’t compromised by
electronic interference,” says Cobben.
Surely a car that weighs 1390kg, has
457kW, a fully slippy diff and absolutely
no traction control will be a complete
maniac of a machine? Not so. Cobben
asked Hennessey to make the ultimate
power delivery from the V8 as soft as
possible to make it manageable.
As a result, the Sarthe feels rapid, yes
(hence the 0-60mph [97km/h] claim of
3.6sec), but it doesn’t feel the least bit
edgy or recalcitrant on the move. Power
and torque flow gradually rather than
with a rush, and the throttle response is
smooth and well judged.
The steering is also similarly refined,
with sophistication to the way it
responds. Ride quality is both soothingand composed for such a small-volume
car and I absolutely loved the feel
and power of the brakes, which will
eventually get ABS.
Traction is good, as is the fundamental
balance mid-corner once you’ve got the
thing loaded and settled into a bend. On
turn-in, however, it does feel a touch too
soft. As a result, it feels like it wants
to fall over itself unless you’re super-
delicate with initial steering inputs.
Other than this, the Sarthe drives
every bit as good as it looks. But of all
things experienced on this very unique
day, the one thing that lingers in my
memory is the sound it makes under full
load at anything above 2000rpm. An
initial deep, guttural rumble develops
into a still bass-heavy howl in the mid-
range, culminating in a confronting ear-
splitting scream between 5000rpm and
the 6800rpm cut out.
The Vencer Sarthe should have no
problem reaching a sales target of 12 per
year. In fact, thanks to a new dealership
in China, one customer has already
made the unique, yet pricey, purchase.
Given that its £250,000 UK pricetag
would translate to around $700,000-plus
locally, it might be a harder sell, but then
good luck getting your hands on one. M1 1 1 23
VENCER SARTHE
Engine 6282cc V8, OHV, 16v, supercharger
Power 457kW @ 6500rpm
Torque 838Nm @ 4000rpm
Weight 1470kg
0-97km/h 3.6sec (claimed)
Price $700,000 (estimated)An effective use of
space: all the main
instruments are
housed within a big
centrally-mounted
TFT screenFAST. NEW. DRIVEN.
by STEVE SUTCLIFFEFIRST
FANG!30 march 2015 motormag.com.auWorldmags.netWorldmags.net