Shark attack: GTO Engineering’s new V-12 is called the Squalo

GTO Engineering, the small British firm behind the sensational 250 SWB and 250 TR Revival Ferraris, has named its first in-house design Squalo—Italian for shark.

Fans of nominative determinism will appreciate the car’s predator-like styling, with its pointy snout and side gills, while the double-bubble roofline and fastback are a racier take on the 250 SWB. Unlike the company’s previous creations, which require a Ferrari donor car, this is a brand-new classic, built using state-of-the-art engineering techniques to a timeless formula.

Central to that is the car’s new four-liter quad-cam V-12 and a mass of less than 2200 pounds, meaning the Squalo should be able to hunt down even the most modern supercars. Developments over the past few months have seen the engine shed weight and gain carburetors with intake trumpets for audible and open-hood appeal. Full details of its performance and specification are due to be released in May.

These latest renderings show the Squalo in its natural habitat, on the open road and glamorous city spots, and reveal signed-off exterior details such as the mirrors, door handles and 18-inch wheels.

GTO Engineering founder Mark Lyon says, “It’s often the small parts of a car that take the longest time. We’re now at a stage where the design models are being created here in the U.K. and soon we will announce our technical partners working with us on the exterior manufacturing and interiors, as well as wheels and tires. In all my years working in the automotive industry, I’ve never been as excited about the creativity of manufacturing and design as I am now.”

Every Squalo will be hand-built, and Lyon reports that the order books are already beginning to fill up, with first deliveries on track for 2023.