Yahoo Autos Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera Is a Carbon-Fiber 1100-HP EV Supercar
The new Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera is a rear-drive quad-motor EV supercar with 1100 horsepower.
The Spanish automaker desgined the Carmen Sagrera for track duty, ensuring it has the cooling and braking power that are required for hot laps.
The Carmen Sagrera's wnterior was done by Italdesign, which appears nicer than prior models that had a more unfinished environment.
The long-dormant Hispano Suiza brand was brought back to life several years ago, although shorn of its hyphen. We drove the modern company’s first car back in 2021, the Hispano Suiza Carmen Boulogne, which was an 1100-hp EV with a €1.5 million price tag (nearly $2 million U.S.). Now there's a new variant, the Carmen Sagrera, which is being launched to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Spanish brand—and it comes with an even higher asking price.
The core structure remains unchanged, with both monocoque and bodywork made from carbon fiber. But the Sagrera gets an upgraded battery pack, this holding 103.0 kWh and now claimed to weigh 1350 pounds, a significant decrease from the 1750 pounds of the old 80.0-kWh battery. Peak charging rate has also risen slightly to 100 kW from the previous 80 kW, although that still seems on the leisurely side by segment standards. Hispano Suiza claims a range of 300 miles on Europe’s optimistic WLTP test cycle, so the EPA number would likely be under 250 miles if the car was ever certified here. The lighter battery has also improved weight distribution, from the previous 40:60 front/rear to what is now claimed to be closer to 50:50.
The Sagrera continues to use the oddball powertrain configuration of four 275-hp electric motors that only drive its rear wheels, with a pair powering each side through a shared single-speed gearbox. Peak power output is 1100 horsepower, the same figure claimed for the Carmen Boulogne that we drove in prototype form. Peak torque is 855 pound-feet. The car also uses a "virtual differential"—a software algorithm that manages the differing amounts of torque going to each rear wheel in lieu of a physical connection.
The Sagrera is intended to offer improved track performance over the existing car. The obvious visual change is found at the back of the car where there is now what' described as a "stork wing shaped" rear spoiler, individual elements rising from the center of the car for each side. Cooling improvements have also been made with additional vents at front and rear, and also set into the front fenders. The result is certainly draws attention, especially in the bronze color chosen for the car in the images. The suspension uses lightweight dual wishbones and adaptive dampers. Carbon-ceramic brakes now feature monoblock calipers.
Changes have been made inside too, a place where the prototype Boulogne felt some way short of finished when we experienced it. Italy’s Italdesign has apparently helped to design the revised cabin that includes a new center console for the direction control buttons.
Hispano Suiza CEO Sergio Martínez Campos tells Car and Driver that the company has already delivered four of the Carmen, with four more in build. Anybody ordering a Sagrera will have to wait around nine months to take delivery, and pay €2.5 million (about $3.2 million USD) before taxes. But despite only being drivable under "Show and Display," interest in the U.S. has reportedly been strong enough for Hispano Suiza to be planning a dealership in Miami.
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