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Farbio models, news & reviews
4
Handling
Performance
Usability
3
Feelgood factor
5
Readers' rating
By Dan Trent
First Drives
12 February 2008 10:44
The Farbio GTS is a dream come true. Whether childhood doodlings or merely idle musing, who among us hasn’t harboured dreams of building the ultimate supercar. It would have 2000bhp! Eight turbos! Afterburners!
Every now and then someone has a go. Most fail. Credit due to Arash Farboud – he did at least build his for real. His eponymously monikered supercar was a fast and beautiful beast, packing a snorting twin-turbo Audi V6 and plenty of high-tech features. First seen in 2004, roadtesters gushed, stardom in a videogame followed and then … nothing.
Farboud moved off to pastures new and the project was picked up by Chris Marsh, son of Marcos co-founder Jem Marsh and a chap well versed in the challenges of small scale sports car production.
A reality check, four years of work and a complete ground up reengineering later, the Farboud has emerged as a production reality, renamed the Farbio GTS.
The Ferrari-chasing ambitions are gone, however, and with them some of the Farboud’s more exotic features. Sensibly Marsh has barely touched the styling and has instead concentrated on making it more cost effective, without diluting the spirit of the original.
Marsh’s race car experience shows in the choice of carbonfibre for the bodywork. Underneath it’s more conventional, with a steel spaceframe chassis and double wishbone suspension, power coming from a normally aspirated Ford V6.
Shh – don’t mention the P-word! But given the price tag and lack of obvious competition the comparison is an obvious one though. But the Farbio’s true competition is yet to be seen in the metal, giving the fledgling company something of a head start. Something that pleases Chris Marsh no end.
His car has already been mistaken for the baby McLaren, not to mention the forthcoming Lotus Eagle. And you can be sure there are some long faces at Hethel – after all the Farbio successfully takes the lightweight Brit-built sportscar blueprint Lotus considers its own and moves it upmarket in a way the Europa tried, and failed, to achieve.
Click 'Next' to read the rest of our drive of the Farbio GTS
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andrewmorten says
It might just work
I wish them luck as light weight and not overy grunty machines are what many of us have been asking for. You never do know you know, light weight may just make those 260 horses feel OK and remember lightweight usually equals good speed through corners if its set up right and has some downforce designed in. It may be one of those cars that goes round corners just so much faster than machines weighing a few hundred kilos more and can accelerate its lower mass just that much easier that the power deficit is made a non-issue. Remember also that a supercharged Exige is not that much lighter and still has 20 odd bhp less, and no one has ever called that slow. And I dont recall anyone complaining about a 911's turn of speed and its doesnt have as good of a power to weight ratio. Its probably not going to intimidate, but it should still thrill. But I agree that the build quality needs to be spot on.
13 February 2008 22:01
ga41 says
@ Robby1977
I dont think it will make much of a difference at the rear if they put the plates right underneath that oval recess where the rear lights are. At the front you're probably right but it will pretty much do the same as it did on the new Maserati Granturismo. I'd still take one anyway :)
12 February 2008 23:57
Robby1977 says
Farbio
Beautiful, but an observation, number plates will spoil the lines both front & rear?
12 February 2008 21:24
PT100 says
Poor timing
If this car was sold for between 30 to 40 thousand pounds, they may have a chance. These days with major manufactures of great cars having models in a similar price range, one must be very brave to sink a not unsubstantial amount into a small or former kit car manufacturer. As for myself, I would rather pay the additional 20k and get on the waiting list for the Audi R8.
12 February 2008 17:09
ajsbeaton says
Not so impressive
Neatly side-stepping the elephant-in-the-corner 911 is one thing, but to then measure the Farbio GTS against a Lotus Europa costing £25k less stretches credibility a little far. The Farbio GTS does step in neatly to fill the spot vacated by the Noble M12 GTO-3R. The snag is that it offers a lot less performance for the money: 262bhp and 0-60 in 4.8 seconds in the Farbio versus 340bhp and 0-60 in 3.8 seconds in the Noble. The M12 could rub shoulders with a 911 Turbo costing £40k more, while the Farbio might not show a clean pair of heels to a Z4M costing £20k less. Handbuilt or not, that strikes me as poor performance/value from a £60,000 sportscar.
12 February 2008 16:03
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