How does an F1 champion create his perfect track-day weapon?

“It is a dream”, says Emerson Fittipaldi. “When I first left Brazil, I thought one day it would be my dream to have my own GT car. A car for track only, but also the lightest car possible. I think we are under 1,000kg.” Behind him, his new collaboration with Pininfarina, the EF7, sits brooding under the Geneva show spotlights. It looks quite stunning: part concept car, part mini-Le Mans racer.

So, is lightness more important to the 1972 and 1974 F1 world champion than massive power?

“Well, my background is in Formula racing," he says. “When you drive F1 or Indycar, you need good agility and braking to make up time.” And yes, Fittipaldi can speak from better experience than most – he’s won the Indy 500 twice. 

“When you drive a GT car after that, it feels heavy and sluggish." He mimes a car being ponderously steered left-right-left through a chicane with his hands wrapped around an invisible steering wheel.

“So I said, I wanted the lightest GT car in the world. And with German engineering – the best – from HWA, a 600 horsepower engine with no turbos and all carbon fibre body, this is what we have.”

“When you have a normally aspirated engine, you’re able to drive the throttle and steering together”, says the Brazilian. “Anyone who drives cars fast knows this. So a normally aspirated engine was part of my dream. But what we also have is a very safe car.

“There are a lot of T-bone crashes in GT racing so we have a strong safety cell and big safety structure at the sides. The people who make the carbon fibre for me car are the same company that makes the carbon for Porsche’s LMP1 cars. They have the best technology.”

The EF7, which Emerson proudly points out was designed to look like a shark in the side profile (even down to the fin on its roof) is running a massive amount of aero. Mega downforce, then, but is that as important to Fittipaldi as feeling a car dance around beneath the driver?

“Hmm. I drove the McLaren P1 GTR for two days. A beautiful car – a very heavy car – but with a lot of downforce. This car is between 500 and 650kg of downforce at 155mph, which is very similar to the McLaren P1. This was our goal.” Emerson admits that the biggest consideration was making the car stable and trustworthy for mere mortal drivers, and that means downforce. 

“Our owners, the guys who buy the car, will drive fast and safe…but mainly fast, I think” he grins.