Arrinera

Origin

The company was established in 2008 by two brothers who believed that Poland should have its own supercar. The company was first started to investigate the global supercar market and to create the framework for its own long-term supercar project. The first prototype was built as a proof-of-concept vehicle in order to assess development strategies for future cars. This mid-engine, rear-drive layout and a bespoke chassis was further developed in the second prototype which added preliminary aerodynamic design. The decision was then made to first focus on developing a GT race car. The Hussarya GT made its public debut at Autosport International in Birmingham in January 2016. In June of the same year, the Hussarya GT, running in the supercar class, became the first Polish car to ever take part in the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Hussarya GT will make its GT3 class race debut in 2017 at the hands of Scottish racing veteran, Anthony Reid.

Heritage

Eliot Zborowski and his son Count Louis were both wealthy racing drivers with Polish family lineage who played key roles in British motorsports earliest days. Eliot Zborowski, born in New Jersey, was an accomplished horseman before the growing tide of interest in automobiles swept him up in 1898.

It is said that in 1903 it was Zborowski who suggested green should become Britain’s national racing colour – in honour of Ireland. The Gordon Bennett Cup, the precursor to Grand Prix motor races, was run in Kildare because of The Locomotive Act 1865 (Red Flag Act) on British roads, and Zborowski is alleged to have made the gesture in tribute to the host country, which led to the foundation of what would become the world-famous British Racing Green. He was killed in the same year at La Turbie hillclimb in France driving a Mercedes 60 factory racer.

His son Count Louis Zborowski also caught the racing bug. Built in 1907, the Brooklands racetrack was home to the exploits of Count Louis Zborowski. Zborowski was the creator of the first aero-engined car in the world, the Chitty Bang Bang. The car was premiered at Brooklands banking in 1920, which ran at very high speeds surprising everyone. It was after the initial running at Brooklands when a 23-litre Maybach inline six engine from a German airship was placed into the 4.5 tonne Chitty Bang Bang car. It paved the way for a different kind of racing car built with an aviation engine in it. Zborowski and his aero-engined monsters inspired James Bond author Ian Fleming to write ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, his children’s book that was also turned into a popular movie starring Dick Van Dyke. Count Louis Zborowski was good friends with Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, who were trying to launch the Aston Martin racing car. He helped them by racing it extensively in a variety of climatic and racing conditions. He lent a portion of his wealth to the duo in order to start production of the Aston Martin racing car. Zebrowski died in the 1924 Italian Grand Prix at Monza when his Mercedes hit an oil slick casting the car into a nearby tree.

Hussarya GT

The Arrinera Hussarya is a GT3 compliant racing car. The GT, which became the first Polish car to take part at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2016, is designed an easy to drive and maintain concept that will appeal to amateur drivers looking for a new alternative to used premium-brand racing cars such as Ferrari and Bentley. The car has been designed not only for ergonomic use towards the driver, but also for the ease of maintenance and low running costs. The long wheelbase and cabin space allows for a passenger seat inside the cockpit, which is the perfect platform for driver tuition.The Hussarya is powered by an LS7 V8 engine pushing out 500bhp and is mated to a six-speed Hewland sequential racing gearbox operated by paddle shifts. It features a modular steel spaceframe chassis, bespoke pushrod suspension with Öhlins four-way adjustable dampers, Alcon brakes with 380mm discs and six-pot mono bloc calipers all round. Bosch racing ABS and traction control are standard equipment. The car is built to FIA GT3 specification.

The Arrinera Hussarya GT made its world debut at Autosport International 2016 in Birmingham. The car’s body is designed by Pavlo Burkatskyy with aerodynamics by Professor Janusz Piechna of Warsaw Technical University, and the mechanicals engineered by Krzysztof Stelmaszczuk. It is built in Cambridgeshire and will make its race debut in 2017. Scottish racing driver Anthony Reid was recently confirmed to race the Hussarya GT in its debut season.

The car is priced at US$229,000 with an obligatory spares package for an additional US$69,000. A road-legal version of the Hussarya GT is expected in late 2017.