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By Ben Whitworth
21 November 2008 16:30
This is the new Farbio GTS 400 – the Bath-based car maker’s hottest sports car yet – and CAR Online is the first to take it out onto the road. Earlier this year we drove the standard 262bhp Farbio GTS and while we liked it very much, it was crying out for more power. Well, there’s now power aplenty: Farbio owner Chris Marsh has dropped a new 410bhp supercharged V6 into his carbonfibre-bodied two-seater to create a performance model for the line-up badged GTS 400. And it’s pretty impressive…
Four years ago, ex-Marcos and Invicta boss Chris Marsh picked up what was left of Arash Farboud’s eponymous car company after he was invited to run the company. He bought out Farboud, relocated to the Cotswolds near Bath and completely redeveloped the car under the new Farbio banner. Three years and £4 million later Marsh unveiled the sleek and shapely GTS. By sticking to tried-and-trusted components (a Ford-sourced V6 and six-cog transmission, for example), introducing a novel and cost-effective carbonfibre ‘bagging’ system for the car and focusing on the product rather than the marketing, Marsh was able to keep costs down and quality up. But the £94,000 GTS 400 performance flagship propels Farbio into an altogether different league.
The 2967cc bent six is kitted out with uprated conrods and trick pistons to boost high-rev durability and lower the compression ratio. It’s breathed on by a Rotrex blower that has its own charge cooler which lowers the air temperature from 95°C (in) to 40°C (out). Boost rises from 0.4bar to 0.85bar, and the whole drivetrain is handled by a heavily recalibrated ECU unit. The result is 410bhp at 6500rpm and 340lb ft of twist at 6100rpm. Marsh had originally designed the car to handle up to 500bhp, so its tubular steel and carbonfibre chassis should be well up to handling the extra muscle.>> Click 'Next' to read more of CAR's exclusive Farbio GTS 400 first drive review
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ga41 says
RE: Farbio GTS 400 supercharged CAR review
Also keen but i cant really think of anything to ask...
04 December 2008 09:46
Batty says
Ben, do you need more? Nobody else seems interested but I'm dead keen!
04 December 2008 09:43
04 December 2008 09:42
Ben- I'm enticed enough (Thank you for your response) I offer. Who do you consider to be your real opposition? Your customers obviously have a greater than average disposable income and a wide variety of choices on which to spend their income. How do you persuade them that the Farbio is the correct choice? Do you feel the weight of past low volume maker’s failures on your shoulders? Which is the sports car that you most admire? Is Britain the best place to make the Farbio? The current car is a very beautiful and intelligently designed object. What sort of lifespan do you anticipate it to have?
02 December 2008 23:56
benwhitworth says
Apologies for the tardy response. I'm more than happy to speak to Chris Marsh and see if he would be up for a bit of an online Q&A session. Would those interested get together half a dozen or so pertinent questions to throw at Marsh and then let me know...?
02 December 2008 09:47
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