At the ACI Milan headquarters, Tuesday 28 February saw Isotta Fraschini officially relaunch the glorious Lombard car brand, born on 27 January 1923, then as a symbol of technology, innovation, elegance and luxury, and now ready to return at competitions.
The FIA World Endurance Championship was chosen as the primary showcase, given that the racing world is certainly the best way to advertise a brand and its products, especially if we are talking about cars that today want to fully embrace the characteristics of a Hypercar.
As already mentioned several times since last October, the debut is scheduled for this year and specifically, having not received the approval from the FIA for registration in the 2023 championship, nor the invitation to the 24h of Le Mans of June, the goal is to have the Tipo 6 LMH Competizione ready and homologated to take part in the 6h of Monza, the fifth event of the World Championship to be held in July.
Not an easy challenge that the men led by the head of motorsport, Claudio Berro, together with Michelotto Engineering and the Vector Sport team are facing in recent months, in which every small and large goal has been achieved.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 LMH Competition
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
“The idea came from Michelotto, who together with some shareholders in the past wanted to relaunch the Isotta Fraschini brand, then at the end of last year some changes were made in the top management and the undersigned was called together with the President Alessandro Fassina and all ‘to Enzo Panacci to support Michelotto’s project which in the meantime had advanced very rapidly”, explained Berro at the presentation attended by Motorsport.com.
“Since October we have taken over the program and the first thing done at a sporting level was to interact with the FIA and ACO to participate in the 2023 championship, doing everything that was humanly possible. We presented the entry applications and paid the fees set out in the established terms, knowing however that honestly we didn’t have everything ready and signaling to the top of the series that we couldn’t do some races because technically the car was still in the homologation phase and not completely ready”.
“The ACO and FIA kindly told us that they could not accept our entry to what is then a World Championship, second only to F1; the rules require that you take part in all races, so we accepted their decision, bringing continue the work which, in terms of timing, has not lost even a day of work”.
Isotta Fraschini, Type 6 LMH Competition
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
In the meantime, an agreement has also been reached with Vector Sport to manage the car on the track once it is homologated and ready to compete against its rivals in the Hypercar class.
“We discussed with four interested teams and reached an agreement with Vector to participate in the WEC 2023 and 2024, but we also needed a license for the brand. With the help of ACI Italia, we went looking for the license at the time and it emerged that Isotta Fraschini is the 14th Italian constructor according to the documents”.
“Once the program was presented, we received the go-ahead from the FIA to continue building the vehicle, which currently has some non-definitive parts, while others will certainly be updated in due time, also so as not to show rivals what the car is like in all respects because we want to play some cards, as logical as it may be”.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 LMH Competition
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
The one shown in Milan is therefore a Hypercar prototype version of the… prototype Tipo 6 LMH Competizione, still in an ‘unripe’ state and which will have to gradually mature in view of a debut that could arrive in the summer.
“We will soon take the 1:1 scale model to the Sauber wind tunnel, then we will go to the bench for simulation tests on the use of the 4-wheel drive, making sure that all the parts involved, including control units and electric motors and thermals, work in harmony. Once the bodywork is coated, we will proceed with the homologation for the WEC”.
“If everything goes as planned, we will start testing on the track. Our goal is to be ready for the debut at the 6h of Monza, for two meanings. The first is that we are a Milanese brand and therefore it is a desire of all of us, and then because we believe it possible, given that from April to June the car can take to the track for development tests and prepare well technically”.
“The WEC provides for ‘race-by-race’ entries and therefore everything will depend on the acceptance of the requests that the FIA and ACO will have in hand. The homologation process should be completed by the end of April, but from a technical point of view, unless unforeseen events, we are confident that we can do it”.
Isotta Fraschini, Type 6 LMH Competition
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
From a technical point of view, the operations were carried out hand in hand with Michelotto in all respects, with mutual trust in the means available.
“The technical choices are made in mutual agreement with Michelotto, who boasts very sophisticated simulation systems. Having done all the tests and analyzes by them, who have great experience in the world of endurance, we came to the conclusion that having an engine with only the turbo was the best. We’ll try to prove it on the track shortly.”
For the moment there are no particular names of pilots, but Isotta Fraschini’s negotiations are underway and the first ones will emerge shortly, also thinking about what the WEC crew could be.
“Clearly the agreement with the Vector team foresees the use of the drivers that the team currently has in LMP2, but we are in talks with others to be used as test drivers. This is a car with such complexity that it requires experience and therefore driven by a a driver who has it. Personally I think it is up to an F1, if not more technically complex, a cross between a GT and an F1”.
“Just look at the drivers chosen by the other WEC competitors for similar cars, they are predominantly GT and endurance drivers, because experience in this series is fundamental. But when we get to Monza we will have to have the three LMH drivers chosen by us, in collaboration with Vector, who will also have the LMP2 to deal with in parallel”.
Isotta Fraschini, Type 6 LMH Competition
Photo by: Francesco Corghi
The trio with Tipo 6 Track and street waiting for poker
The rebirth of the Isotta Fraschini brand, as we said above, does not pass only through the world of competitions, which are the viaticum to then get to the heart of the matter. On the other hand, the FIA WEC regulation also underlines this and to participate in the championship you must be a full-fledged Constructor.
Therefore, the Tipo 6 LMH Competizione is only the first of a series of three cars that Isotta Fraschini has planned for production over the next few years. A trio formed by the aforementioned, combined with the Pista variant for customers who want to buy it to have fun on a track in events designed exclusively for them, to then arrive at the Strada version, or approved for driving around town with number plates where permitted.
The Tipo 6 Pista is considered the little sister of the Tipo 6 Competizione, with a 750 HP V6 turbo engine combined with a 270 HP electric motor and weighing less than 1000kg. The owners of this racing car will also be able to count on the presence of a professional driver as an instructor, on ordinary and extraordinary inspections by Isotta Fraschini assistance, on the deposit of the car at the factory as well as its movement to and from the tracks. The classic turnkey service based on the “arrive and drive” concept.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 Track
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
The price of the car will start from €2,750,000 plus taxes, which is the same base figure as the Tipo 6 Strada, equipped with some bodywork modifications such as the absence of the rear wing, ground clearance and weight, to be adequate for use not exclusively in the circuit, but above all with a series of elements that can be customized by the buyer in order to have a unique piece in all respects according to one’s will.
Performance remains similar to the Competizione and Pista versions, albeit with some differences due to the alternative characteristics. During the presentation, the President, Alessandro Fassina, announced an industrial plan with an investment of 100 million euros, a quarter of which has already been spent.
The annual production of Type 6 cars will be in the order of 50 specimens in 5 years, while starting from 2026 the aim is to lower the poker with the arrival of a new two-seater road hypercar which in the following years will be produced between 30 and 40 units per year.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 Road
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
“Today Isotta Fraschini has a CDA that I consider adequate and competent, with the CEO Enzo Panacci and the head of motorsport, Claudio Berro. From a technological and engineering point of view, Michelotto’s company is the best and I believe that the choices are perfect for the type of cars we want to produce”, highlighted Fassina.
“The Tipo 6 LMH Competizione, of which we should make a couple a year, is practically ready and will transfer most of its characteristics to the Pista version for track days; I think it is the most performing racing car available to date on the market, which sometimes even offers you F1s, but maybe old, for collectors or with non-original parts. And this car will be able to turn 5″ from an F1”.
“Buying a car of this type is not trivial, but you can with us. The road version brings with it track characteristics, albeit with a license plate. Production will start immediately and the goal is to deliver a car in 9 months, while in A two-seater road car is also planned, which will be available from 2026. In a couple of months we will be able to give the first technical characteristics”.
“To reach this goal and to participate in competitions with the Tipo 6, we need to invest at least 100 million euros. Of these, 25 million have already been invested and the remainder will be invested as envisaged in our economic plan, which envisages the construction of at least 50 machines in 4 years at the Michelotto headquarters in Padua. For now, this work absorbs 30% of the company’s capacity, so the project will certainly be followed very well in all its parts”.
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