We never thought of Korea as a maker of super cars, but the Spirra S certainly turned our thoughts around. The Spirra S was originally designed and built in 2002 by Proto Motors, a Korean sports car maker. However they hit upon hard times and were taken over by Oullim Motors who have carried on production of the Spirra S in Korea. They hope to sell 100 of the Spirra S in Korea this year priced at around $100,000USD. Quite reasonable, for a super car that does 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds thanks to its 4.6 DOHC V8 32V engine with a power output of 320 hp. This engine is borrowed from older Ford Mustang Cobras, and is also used by certain Hyundai models.The showing of the Spirra S at the Beijing Auto Show could signal that Spirra plans to jump into the Chinese market, where a taste for exotic auto marques is growing at a rapid pace - on a side note, China Car Times saw two Ferrari F450s (both being driven by women), 1 Maserati Quattroporte, many Audi Q7s, dozens of Porsche Cayannes (inc several turbo models), and one Porsche 911 over the space of the weekend. Want to sell super cars and high end luxury vehicles? Best head on over to China.
Ash, sorry man, but except for the Ferrari 456s, all other vehicles you’ve mentioned aren’t such a big deal…
.
.
I remember this Spirra from some years ago, I didn’t know it went out of production.
.
But please, let’s make it clear that this is NO supercar, it’s just a decent looking sports cars, and honestly, who would pay 100k USD for an ancient Ford V8???
Don’t get me wrong, 320 hp is lovely, but man..!!! 100k USD for a decade-old Mustang powertrain???
.
Thanks, I’d rather go for porsche 911, Audi R8, Nissan GTR or Corvette ZR1 !!!!!
@jackson liu: so true; with this 320hp ancient v8, this could probably barely (if at all) run with an M3 that only costs $70k. And you’re actually paying BMW for the r&d that went into that monster v8. Or if you’re talking mid-engine, the Cayman and Boxster S. All under $100k. Ignoring the pedigree of this car, I would still be hard pressed to pay more than $70k.
Jackson,
Thats why I said supercars and other luxury cars! Not bad for a weekends spotting, in supposedly a developing country!
The front end reminds me of the Ford GT. Pays homage to the Ford V8 I guess! Why they don’t use GM’s LS1 is odd to me; why use the ancient Ford? Regardless, I’m sure these American powerplants all pack some raw, powerful fun!
Also, according to Autoblog, the Spirra uses a Porsche tranny.
Nice looking car. But my guess is that China’s status conscious noveau riche are not about to buy a Korean sports car, or even an American Corvette………not exotic enough.