Hispano Suiza Previews Hardcore Carmen Sagrera Hypercar

We’d forgive you if you’d forgotten that Hispano Suiza exists. The low-volume Spanish company (whose name means ‘Spanish-Swiss’ in reference to its founders’ nationalities) was originally a kind of Spanish Rolls-Royce, building both luxury cars for the era’s jetset and aircraft engines between 1904 and 1946. After that, it took a brief 73-year break from car manufacturing.

However, after a small legal dispute with another company trying to use the name, Hispano Suiza finally got back to building cars five years ago with the all-electric Carmen hypercar. The car has a wild art-deco look in a throwback to the company’s roots. So far, 19 units of the original 1005bhp version have been built, and a further five examples of the 1099bhp Carmen Boulogne are currently in production.

Now, Hispano Suiza is teasing a third variant, and it looks as if handling is the name of the game. Named the Carmen Sagrera, the short preview video gives us a look at a big carbon rear wing sat atop the Carmen’s distinctive tapering rear end. The new aero suggests a more hardcore remit for the Sagrera, although the brief press release only mentions a “sportier look,” so it’s not clear what chassis tweaks, if any, might accompany the car.

It will also introduce a new 103kWh battery capacity, increasing the Carmen’s range. Whatever further upgrades it does come with, Hispano Suiza is adamant it won’t compromise its ‘hyperlux’ philosophy. Okay then. The Sagrera name is a reference to the La Sagrera area of Barcelona, where the company set up its first large-scale factory.

We can expect a full reveal in mid-2024, coinciding with the 120th birthday of the Hispano Suiza brand, when we’ll presumably get info like production numbers, specs and what other changes have been made to the original car.