Whatever happened to... the Devel Sixteen?

What is it?

It’s the most powerful, fastest car in the world. Or it would be, if it actually existed. The Devel Sixteen owes its name to an outrageous powerplant: a 12.3-litre quad-turbo V16 developing a claimed 5,007bhp and 3,757lb ft of torque.

Hailing from the UAE, the prototype was revealed as far back as 2014, after which Devel revised its plans, saying the road going version would be detuned to a much more sensible 3,000bhp with the 5,000bhp one being track-only.

Did they actually build any?

A couple of concept cars certainly exist, but only one is apparently driveable, and it’s not exactly swift. After a ‘production version’ reveal in 2017, as recently as 2021 a production car was apparently delivered to a customer – but it only packed a V8. That ought to have Trading Standards onto Devel about the ‘Sixteen’.

A V16 block has been seen testing on the dyno at Steve Morris engines in the US, but there’s no sign of one being installed into a finished Devel. Of course, Bugatti's now already there with its V16 Tourbillon.

Where are they now?

The website’s still live, with Devel proudly proclaiming itself ‘Legend in the history of supercars’. Hmm, urban legend maybe. The company Instagram page appears to show at least two different specs, indicating a few may have been built, but there’s no clues as to the engine within.

And Devel is distracting itself by also pretending it’s building a 6.7-litre diesel 6x6 truck, called the Sixty.

Image courtesy of TheArsenale