Garagisti GP1: Can this analogue V12 hypercar beat GMA at its own game?

With styling by ex-Bugatti designer Ángel Guerra, and a 6.6-litre N/A V12 courtesy of the Italians, Garagisti’s GP1 is the stuff of petrolhead dreams. But is it a little too similar to its closest rival?

What is it they say about buses? You wait for one and then… Well, we begged for a truly mechanical feeling, back-to-basics manual supercar, and three came along all at once. 

Joining the ranks of Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 and Eccentrica’s Diablo restomod, the Garagisti GP1 is designed to thrill those who long for a time before electrification and nannying driver aids. 

And it certainly delivers. Sitting behind the driver, is a vast and unfettered 6.6-litre, V12 lump that reportedly delivers 789 bhp at a sky-high 9,000 rpm — without any help from forced induction or electric motors. What’s more, you’ll be in full control of how that grunt reaches the road. Making a slick getaway in the GP1 will depend entirely on how deftly you can dump the clutch and feed in the throttle — a manual gearbox is the only transmission of choice.

But what happens if you coordinate those movements to perfection and slam home each gear just right? Well, thanks to a carbon monocoque chassis, the GP1 tips the scales at just 1,000 kg and boasts a stronger power-to-weight ratio than the illusive T.50. So we don’t need to see any concrete acceleration data to say that it should take off like an F-35 fighter jet launching from an aircraft carrier. 

There are no ejector seats here, though. However, with those enormous brake discs and Pirelli P ZERO tyres at each corner — which we recently sampled on BMW vicious new M5 — you shouldn’t need one. The cabin is also considerably more luxurious than your average military-issue jet. While this early render is quite obviously incomplete, we like what we see so far. A swooping, sculpted dash bears similarities to mid-2000s supercar legends from Porsche and Ferrari. While the ergonomic placement of the gearstick, and a lack of distracting multi-function buttons on the steering wheel, attest to the GP1’s purist focus.

From where does this exotic looking and sounding machine hail, then? Milan, Bologna, Fiorano? Nope, it’s a British invention — just like the GMA T.50. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find its multinational roots. It’s got an Italian heart — a bespoke 12-cylinder unit from engine artisans, Italtecnica — Italian brakes by Brembo; was designed by a Spaniard; and features Swedish Ohlins suspension. 

That’s all top-shelf kit, and you’d expect nothing less given the price: a proposed £2.45 million. So it costs roughly the same as the T.50, sports the same high-revving 12-cylinder/manual gearbox layout, and even looks rather similar. Which begs the question: why would you pick the GP1? Afterall GMA is the brainchild of one of the sharpest minds in automotive engineering, whereas Garagisti is still an unproven entity in the hypercar space. 

Everyone’s got to start somewhere though, right? Just look at the likes of Pagani, Koenigsegg, and even Lamborghini, if you want proof that newcomers can upset the supercar status quo. 

But what do you think? Is the GP1 a true T.50 rival, or just another exotic concept that’ll never see the light of day? One thing’s for certain: it’s a luxury you’ll need seriously deep pockets to indulge.

Hero image credit: Garagisti & Co.