The Picasso is back! But not the one you’re familiar with…

It’s been more than four years since Citroen decided to rebrand its Picasso as the SpaceTourer, which - in the eyes of Swiss company Picasso Automotive - is just enough distance to introduce itself with something a bit, um, lairier.

Yup, the car you see here is the Picasso Automotive 660 LMS; 660 because of the horsepower drawn from the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V60, LM for its Le Mans prototype inspiration, and S as it’s designed for the street.

The firm was founded in 2020 with the goal of creating a high-performance, lightweight supercar, and much carbon fibre later (including the largest panel ever fitted to a car, allegedly), it appears to have hit its target: 980kg to be precise. A full six kilos lighter than Gordon Murray’s T.50…

That powertrain is supplied by the Italian company Autotecnica Motori, with the V6 revving to almost 8,000rpm and pulling 531lb ft. All of that shove is sent to the rear wheels, via a six-speed sequential gearbox. No word on acceleration, although top speed is given as 196mph.

Built around a carbon fibre monocoque, the 660 LMS gets a front splitter, manually adjustable rear wing, a flat floor and a rear diffuser for 960kg of downforce at its V-max. Double wishbone suspension with push-rod dampers keeps the handling in check, with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres tasked with sticking it to the road.

What else? Oh yes, Brembo six-piston brake calipers front and rear, a titanium exhaust, and it’s even pulled that Honda e trick of digital wing mirrors for better aero. So your look, signal, manoeuvres will be done courtesy of a pair of screens inside.

We haven’t seen the interior yet, but Picasso Automotive promises a carbon fibre steering wheel (but of course) clad in Alcantara, with physical buttons and rotary dials to manipulate the ABS, engine map and traction control. There’s a seven-inch colour display too for all the essential driving info.

“The whole car has been engineered to maximise performance on the road and on the track, with aerodynamics carefully studied in every detail, the extensive use of carbon fibre and composite materials, powered by a state-of-the-art engine,” said CEO and founder Stefano Picasso. “We wanted a sensational, responsive and at the same time technical drive, which can be appreciated both by professionals and amateurs”.

Fully customisable to each customer’s tastes, order books for the 660 LMS are open now with deliveries slated for the second half of 2023. Only 21 units will be made, priced at €820,000 (just over £700k). And that’s before tax, obviously.

Anyone want to go halfsies?