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Sbarro Super Eight: The Baby Ferrari With Rally Group B in Mind
Geneva Motor Show 1984, Franco Sbarro unveils the Super Eight, a model that not only aspires to be the heir to the Super Twelve, but a prototype destined for the top category of rally: Group B. Too bad that despite the strong interest that aroused, the hatchback created by the Swiss designer never went beyond the stage of a one-off, remaining an authentic unicorn recently dusted off thanks to Speed8 Classics and put on sale at around € 150,000.
We have called it baby Ferrari not by chance, since the basis of the Super Eight is a Ferrari 308 GTB Quattrovalvole, from which it borrows both the chassis and the engine. With a total weight of just 800 kg, the 2.9-liter V8 placed in mid-rear position is combined with a 5-speed manual gearbox (Ferrari as well) and delivers 260 horsepower on the rear axle, promising incredible handling skills.
As far as aesthetics concern, the Super Eight is undoubtedly daughter of the 80s and demonstrates it from each of its many edges, from the very wide wheel arches that especially at the rear accentuate the menacing look of the small but brutal Sbarro thanks to the vents for cooling the engine similar to those seen on the Ferrari Testarossa. The front is the least representative, with a more anonymous image similar to any small car of the era, but the rear still distorts the concept of uniformity of lines, with a large glass surface and with the two couple of tailpipes pointing up.
The Super Eight undoubtedly has a singular image and in some details even asymmetrical – another peculiarity – and it is a real shame that the project has not had more luck, because with its mechanical identity card and small dimensions as a starting point for a possible competition car, we could have found ourselves with another icon, rather than yet another meteor of the legendary 80s.
By Carlo Brema / Photos by Speed8 Classics
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