Geneva 2011: Weismann Spyder Concept

Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. German boutique manufacturer Weismann has made some truly stunning cars.  So I'm going to get this out of the way real quick: the Weismann Spyder... is not one of them.  In fact, it's probably one of the ugliest new cars I've seen in quite a while.  But let me tell you exactly why that doesn't matter at all.

A new BMW M3 Coupe, in it's lightest form, weighs in at 1655kg - or a rather portly 3,649lbs.  That's almost 1,000lbs heavier than the original 4-cylinder box-flared M3 from the 80's.  Thankfully, it's got a 4.0L M-designed V8 under the hood that spits out 414bhp at 8,300rpm, and 295lb-ft of torque at 3,900rpms.  So despite all that mass, an M3 can still rip to sixty miles an hour close to four seconds flat - although closer to four and a half with the manual, which doesn't enjoy the benefit of launch control.  Fast stuff.

What does that have to do with this new Weismann Spyder?  Well, it's got the engine out of the latest E90/E92 M3, all 414 horsepower of it.  But the Weismann Spyder, which is basically some wheels, an M3 motor, two seats, and a body wrapped as tightly as possible around all the greasy bits, weighs 2,200lbs. So a bit of basic math puts than E90 M3 at a power to weight ratio of 8.82 pounds-per-horsepower, and the Weismann, with the same engine at 5.3 pounds per horsepower.  That's a pretty crazy power/weight ratio, and the Weismann has performance to prove it.

The small German company says the Spyder prototype will do 0-100km/h in under 4 seconds (which I imagine is somewhat traction-limited) and a top speed of 180mph (which I imagine is aerodynamically limited).  What's really cool is that... well, that's all there is to the Spyder.  Things we take for granted as being parts of a "car" like a windscreen, doors, roof - not there.  Short of a KTM X-Bow or an old Renault Sport Spyder, cars don't get much more hardcore.

Weismann is saying the Spyder is just a concept, but supposedly it could show up in 2012 as a production model, perhaps powered by a different BMW engine (as the M3's V8 is not long for this world, with the upcoming next-generation 3-series bowing some time this year.)  No price estimates were given, but I'd imagine it's painfully expensive considering how little car you'd get.  Still, you can't tell me you wouldn't enjoy it.