Stile Bertone Mantide news - Red ’Tide - 2009

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The latest one-off supercar from Jason Castriota - the man behind the awesome Ferrari P4/5 and new design director at Bertone - is here. It is called the Mantide.

Pronounced Man-ti-deh (not Man-tide, sadly), it's based on the already insane Corvette ZR1 and it looks... well, let's leave it to you to decide - what do you think of it?

It's a striking design, no doubt. Castriota, who talked exclusively to our US site last year, says the Mantide ‘draws inspiration from modern aerospace and the world of Formula One', though we can't help fearing that the FIA would take a very dim view of all the aero flim-flammery. Like the P4/5, there's a teardrop canopy, though the whole package is far more aggressive and, er, futuresome than the curvy Ferrari.

The Mantide is a functional shape, though. It boasts a drag coefficient 25 per cent lower than the ZR1, and generates 30 per cent more downforce. Because the body, wheels, seats and trim are constructed from carbon fibre, it weighs in 100kg lighter than the Corvette.

All of which adds up to a simply staggering 0-62mph time of just 3.2 seconds and top speed of 217mph - the ZR1, in comparison, manages a tardy 3.5-second sprint and a 205mph maximum. The full FIA roll cage and four-point harnesses are probably a good idea, then - this isn't a concept, this is a proper driver.

Cost? It's one of those ‘pick a number at random, and then add a whole bunch of zeros until your hand hurts' cars. The estimated cost of Glickenhaus' P4/5 was around three million dollars, and we can't imagine the Mantide will be any cheaper.

So, once again, what do you think of the looks? We're genuinely interested to hear what you think of this one...