Nilu27 Introduces the NILU, a Heavy Metal Hypercar
Maximal design meets minimal modernism in this new-school supercar with an old-school approach.
It might be most helpful to define Nilu27’s new NILU hypercar by what it’s not, as opposed to what it is. There are no turbochargers, for starters. Nor is there a hybrid system, all-wheel drive, active aero, dual-clutch transmission, any driving aids, any driving modes, or screens inside. Well, there’s one screen, but it’s the display for a camera standing in for the rearview mirror. There is not even an option for an automatic transmission. The NILU comes with a seven-speed gated manual transmission. Now’s the time in the introduction when we point out what the NILU does have—namely a 6.5-liter, 80-degree V-12 engine that produces 1,070 horsepower at 11,000 rpm, and 561 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm. Rear-drive only, no nannies. Gulp. We should note that the newest Chevy Corvette ZR1 manages 1,064 hp from a 5.5-liter V-8 with the help of two turbochargers, and the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12 produces 1,000 horsepower at 10,600 rpm. Heady company for an upstart.
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The quick-reving V-12, developed by New Zealand firm Hartley Engines, is a large-bore, short-stroke design that features individual throttle bodies and takes inspiration from 1980s and 1990s Formula 1 engines. While the 80-degree vee angle makes it a wide engine (and unusual), Nilu27 and Hartley combat this by flipping the intake and exhaust positions. The headers attach inside the vee of the V-12, forming a massive, sweet-looking 3-D printed Inconel bundle of snakes that dumps all 12 cylinders into one mammoth pipe capped off by a Space Shuttle engines-inspired three-exit design. The big exhaust is nestled into a wing-like structure that’s treated on either side with gold foil heat shielding.
The NILU sports a carbon-fiber chassis with two tubular aluminum subframes. The big V-12 is located midships, right behind the passenger compartment. Each corner consists of large double A-arms controlled by remote-reservoir push-rod dampers with multi-way adjustable compression/jounce and rebound. Braking duties are handled by Brembo, and the rotors are carbon ceramic. The staggered, lightweight, five-spoke, forged wheels are made by APP Tech and feature scallops on the backside for extra mass reduction. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2Rs, 265/35/20 in front and 325/30/21 out back.
The design is one that founder Sasha Selipnakov has been working on for almost 20 years. Sasha is the man behind the exterior design of the Lamborghini Huracan, Bugatti Chiron, and Koenigsegg CC850 and Gemera. Inspired in part by Italian racecars of the 1960s and 1970s (tell us you don’t see some Ferrari P330 in there), and in other parts by the German Bauhaus movement, progressive heavy metal, one very specific part of the Lamborghini Countach, maths as the Brits would say, plus drift and muscle cars with a jetfight-like canopy, it’s safe to say the NILU looks like nothing else. Slippery yet chiseled, modern yet nostalgic, Concept Lawn meets Formula D.
What we like most about the NILU, Nilu27, and Sasha himself is the attitude. How much downforce? Dunno. 0-60 mph? It has 1,070 hp and a manual transmission, so that's more driver dependent than usual. Supercars are traditionally hard to get in and out of, so Sasha made sure there wasn’t a giant bolster to climb over. Instead, you sink down into the seat. Likewise, the barge boards are scooped out to allow passengers to get as close to the sill as possible for eased ingress/egress. Is getting in as simple as flopping into a RAV4? No, but it’s easier than, say, contorting into a Valkyrie. Sasha likes small steering wheels with no buttons, and sure enough, that's what owners will experience from behind the NILU's wheel. Nilu27 isn’t concerned with records or numbers or lap times with the NILU. Instead, the focus is on the driving experience that the 15 quite well-heeled owners will have. No official word on pricing, but we believe the NILU will be well into the seven figures range. Hey, it’s a hypercar, ain’t it?
Street legal here in the States? Not exactly, but if there’s a will there’s will there’s a Show and Display way. That said, the plan is to build 15 initial NILUs, with a later batch of 54 street versions to follow. Sasha says the NILU will be the purest form of his design, while the 54 street cars will look slightly different in order to meet various crash, lighting, and emissions regulations.. The first 15 units will be hand-assembled in Irvine, California, by Aria Group, famed for building show cars, movies cars, and a handful of boutique builds like the Czinger 21C. Nilu27’s future plans involve its own European factory. You’ll be able to see the NILU next week at Pebble Beach Car Week.
When I was just one-year-old and newly walking, I managed to paint a white racing stripe down the side of my father’s Datsun 280Z. It’s been downhill ever since then. Moral of the story? Painting the garage leads to petrolheads. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always had strong opinions about cars.
One day I realized that I should combine two of my biggest passions and see what happened. Turns out that some people liked what I had to say and within a few years Angus MacKenzie came calling. I regularly come to the realization that I have the best job in the entire world. My father is the one most responsible for my car obsession. While driving, he would never fail to regale me with tales of my grandfather’s 1950 Cadillac 60 Special and 1953 Buick Roadmaster. He’d also try to impart driving wisdom, explaining how the younger you learn to drive, the safer driver you’ll be. “I learned to drive when I was 12 and I’ve never been in an accident.” He also, at least once per month warned, “No matter how good you drive, someday, somewhere, a drunk’s going to come out of nowhere and plow into you.”
When I was very young my dad would strap my car seat into the front of his Datsun 280Z and we’d go flying around the hills above Malibu, near where I grew up. The same roads, in fact, that we now use for the majority of our comparison tests. I believe these weekend runs are part of the reason why I’ve never developed motion sickness, a trait that comes in handy when my “job” requires me to sit in the passenger seats for repeated hot laps of the Nurburgring. Outside of cars and writing, my great passions include beer — brewing and judging as well as tasting — and tournament poker. I also like collecting cactus, because they’re tough to kill. My amazing wife Amy is an actress here in Los Angeles and we have a wonderful son, Richard.Read More
