Mamma mia! This new Italian hypercar gets a 7.0-litre quad-turbo V12 that makes 2,127bhp

How’s your capacity to contextualise numbers? Reckon you’ve got a fairly good understanding of what 100bhp, 300bhp and 500bhp feel like in a car? Well, prepare to have your tiny mind blown, because this new Italian hypercar is claiming 2,127bhp.

That isn’t a typo. We really do mean well over 2,000bhp. And heck, it’s not like that power comes from a couple of electric motors a la Lotus Evija. It’s not even a punchy-V8-plus-hybrid system. In fact, this thing deploys a quad-turbo V12 that also happens to shove out 1,481lb ft of torque. These are numbers that make the 2,031bhp Hennessey Venom F5 Evolution and the 1,775bhp Bugatti Tourbillon look like golf buggies. If it makes it, it’ll be the second most powerful production car in history after the 2,269bhp hybrid V8 Koenigsegg Gemera.

The car itself is called the Katla, and it has been unveiled in Modena by a new company called Giamaro Automobili. The former apparently comes from an Icelandic volcano (although not the one that stopped us all going on holiday in 2010), while the latter describes itself as “a new force in the world of ultra-high-performance motoring – a brand defined by vision, soul, and technical audacity”. Modest, too.

We’ll forgive a little bit of self-congratulation if this thing actually does reach proper production, though. Apparently the dry-sumped engine was “developed entirely in-house from the ground up” and features a 120-degree hot V configuration. Quite how all four turbos are supposed to fit between the cylinder banks remains to be seen. Let alone cooling the things down.

There'll be three separate keys to unlock different stages of power. A white key apparently limits the car to somewhere between 395bhp and 789bhp, which Giamaro says is for “calm and confident driving”. Not quite sure ‘calm’ will come into it if it’s up near the 800bhp mark, but it’ll certainly be less intense than if you use the black key. That opens up 1,647bhp, before the final red key allows access to the full 2,127bhp.

We’d imagine at this point you’ll need to sign a waiver, write a will and pray to whichever god will listen, because the Katla’s power is sent through a seven-speed CIMA automated manual gearbox (although an 11-speed dual-clutch is apparently also in development) and a mechanical limited-slip diff to the rear wheels alone. Yep, it’s rear-wheel drive. Good grief. No word on top speed or 0-62mph times just yet, but we do know that it weighs just 1,450kg.

That’s mostly thanks to the bespoke carbon fibre monocoque that tips the scales at 170kg. All of the suspension components are CNC-machined from solid bits of aluminium, and we’re told that it’s both “active and intelligent”. Not to brag, but we had a school report that said something along those lines once. Anyway, the Katla will get adjustable dampers and ride height, plus a heave spring at both the front and rear. There are carbon ceramic brake discs to try and slow the thing down, plus the active rear wing turns into a giant airbrake.

It actually looks fantastic too, doesn’t it? Shouty and aggressive enough so that you know not to mess with it, but not so over the top that it looks like it has been crashed backwards through a carbon fibre factory. Giamaro says that all of the bodywork and styling has been sculpted around the engine, hence the presence of those two giant roof scoops. “Its proportions are deliberately rear-biased,” says Giamaro’s press release. Still room for a classic hypercar reference up front though, because those square intakes that also house the DRLs are apparently inspired by jet fighters.

The interior also takes inspiration from aviation, although Giamaro is keen to point out that it isn’t “falling into imitation”. Anyone else hearing the start of a rap there? The centre console is apparently shaped like the control panel from a fighter jet, and then you’ll get two screens plus plenty of exposed carbon fibre and aluminium.

Sounds like a go on the configurator might be a full day’s work too, because Giamaro wants every single Katla to be unique. That means it’s not just the colour and trim you’ll be picking, but also the steering feel, suspension tuning and throttle mapping.

“We don’t build cars for customers — we build them with them,” said company founders Giacomo and Pierfrancesco Commendatore. “That’s the only way to create the kind of authentic bond that transforms each vehicle into a personal expression — an extension of who you are, and how you move through the world.

“For us, a car must be more than fast or beautiful. It must stir something deeper — it must transcend. It must connect with the person who lives it, becoming an extension of their identity.”

But wait, what’s this same-same-but-different version lurking in the shadows above? Well, not content with unveiling one car, Giamaro decided that it should also show off its second at the same time. This one is known as the Albor and takes its name from a remote volcano on Mars. You can see where this is going can’t you? Yes, it is an off-road hypercar.

The Albor will get the same carbon tub and ludicrous quad-turbo V12 as the Katla, but there’s more ground clearance and a more dramatic design. No word on whether it’ll be all-wheel drive or not though. Could be interesting if it’s still sending 2,000bhp+ through the rear wheels on loose gravel.

Still, that’s about all we know of Giamaro so far. Stay tuned to TopGear.com for more info as we get it though, because when a company describes its vision simply as ‘Why Not?’ we reckon it’s worth paying attention to…