The Delage D12 is a 1,100 hp fighter jet on wheels that wants to rule over the Nürburgring.
Delage is a long-forgotten French automaker that once used to rule the race tracks. It was founded in 1905 by Pierre Louis Adolphe Delage for the love of racing and luxury. Delage's forte was V12-powered hand-built race machines that claimed many world speed records and Grand Prix titles during the early 1900s. There was a time when Delage's Type 15 S 8 racecar won four Euro Grand Prix titles!
But the fame was short-lived as a cocktail of World War 2 and the Great Depression made Delage fade away. But the iconic French carmaker is being revived by the same family which helped the sports apparel brand Adidas rise from its ashes. Laurent Tapie is the CEO and resurrector of Delage Automobiles, and their first modern machine is called the D12.
Calling it a hypercar would be subtle, as it has a wild futuristic design that is heavily influenced by Formula One cars. The F1 influence goes skin deep too, with sophisticated suspension tech that has never been used on a production machine. The Delage D12's interior is one of the wildest out there with a sick fighter jet design, and Tapie is hell-bent on taking over the tag of "World's fastest production car around the 'Ring" with the Delage D12 hypercar.
The Delage D12 is a 1,100 hp fighter jet on wheels that wants to rule over the Nürburgring.
The Delage D12 is powered by a rear-mid-mounted 7.6-liter Hybrid engine. The engine churns out 990 hp at 8,200 rpm. The street-legal GT version of the D12 hypercar gets a 110 hp electric motor which dials the total output to 1,100 hp. There is another version called the D12 Club which uses a smaller 20 hp electric motor (for a combined 1,010 hp) but also loses out on 200 pounds to make this wild car, even crazier!
The battery capacity is still not disclosed but because Delage will be offering an electric-only City drive mode, expect it to be fairly sized. Power is sent to the wheels via an eight-speed single-clutch gearbox. The 3,064-pound GT model claims to do 0-62 mph in just 2.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 224 mph. The less-powerful yet lighter D12 Club model does 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds and has the same top speed.
This wild hypercar goes god-mode on aerodynamics, and it is showcased in the extraterrestrial design language of the Delage D12. Handling and driving dynamics are tuned to be razer-sharp. The D12 happens to be one of the few road-going cars to flaunt the rare and quite expensive F1-style pushrod suspension.
This system was a revolution in F1 two decades ago and is still complex and pricey enough for major automakers to not choose it for their hypercars. But French engineer Mauro Bianchi, who holds the patent for this suspension layout, gave Delage exclusive rights for road-legal use. The chassis development was overseen by Ex-F1 1997 World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve.
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If the sheer aggression of the Delage D12 doesn't intimidate you, then nothing else will! It looks like the vehicle that "The Predator" would drive around. Looking pretty is the least of this hypercar's worries. Every crease, vent, and shape have been made with aerodynamic efficiency and downforce in mind.
The front fascia houses a neatly-integrated spoiler that wraps around its pointed nose. The car gets wider towards the rear with a huge retractable spoiler. The cockpit is reminiscent of a fighter jet and even opens up like the glass canopy as seen on jets. The downforce specifications are not disclosed, but we are sure that they will claim it is enough to be driven upside down in a tunnel.
The wild and futuristic design is not confined to the exterior. The Delage D12 interior doesn't look a lot different from that of a fighter jet This hypercar uses a center-mounted driver seat along with a passenger seat in tandem. The seats are molded onto the carbon-fiber monocoque chassis. The driver is treated to a wicked-looking yoke steering. It makes Tesla's yoke looks normal!
The steering gets two stalks to grip just like in a fighter jet. There are three digital screens spread on the tiny dashboard which includes the instrument cluster, car vitals, and even an infotainment setup with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The cockpit layout on the D12 is as wild as it gets for a car.
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Frankly speaking, we were a bit skeptical about the Delage D12 since there wasn't any proper follow-up by the Delage team after unveiling this hypercar in 2020. But that changes now as Delage has finally come up with a working prototype which is set to embark on a US tour later this year.
But Delage CEO Laurent Tapie aims to take this bad boy to the Nürburgring and steal the tag of Fastest production car around the 'Ring from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey-Racing which did the run in 6:43.300s. If they manage to topple this Porsche, we don't think Delage needs the marketing team anymore!
The D12 is currently in its final stage of testing and plans to make just 30 units of this wild revival car. The first D12 would be auctioned off followed by a $2.5 million price tag on the remaining 29 specimens. The European clients would get their hands on the working prototype first, followed by America. Deliveries are expected to start in 2023.
Tijo is an engineer, mechanic, gamer, and an avid content creator. He is a grease-monkey who loves tinkering with automobiles every now and then, when not busy penning down his passion for them. He has always had a soft spot for JDM and is keen on diving deep in for anything that involves wheels and engines.