Covini's six wheeled sportscar

[a007apl]

"Covini is a name which is not well known in automotive circles outside of Italy - that's almost certain to change thanks to the small company's latest design - a six wheel sports car along similar engineering lines to the famous Tyrrell P34 Formula One racing car of the mid-seventies. The six wheeled design offers many advantages over a conventional design as it offers more traction for cornering and braking and minimises the risks associated with tyre punctures and aquaplaning. The P34 experienced a host of development issues which technology has since solved. Covini's car certainly looks the business - in the go-department it is powered by an Audi 4.2 litre V8 motor (283.4 kw / 380 bhp @ 6400 rpm) which powers it to a top speed of 300 kmh."
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http://i149.exs.cx/img149/2617/2754023mj.th.jpg (http://img149.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img149&image=2754023mj.jpg)http://img213.exs.cx/img213/9876/2754038wf.th.jpg (http://img213.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img213&image=2754038wf.jpg)http://img108.exs.cx/img108/6910/2754048om.th.jpg (http://img108.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img108&image=2754048om.jpg)
http://img212.exs.cx/img212/7810/2754055fa.th.jpg (http://img212.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img212&image=2754055fa.jpg)http://img87.exs.cx/img87/3446/2754073kd.th.jpg (http://img87.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img87&image=2754073kd.jpg)http://img198.exs.cx/img198/2108/2754087vi.th.jpg (http://img198.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img198&image=2754087vi.jpg)
http://img198.exs.cx/img198/8318/2754096yb.th.jpg (http://img198.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img198&image=2754096yb.jpg)http://img108.exs.cx/img108/7639/2754102mr.th.jpg (http://img108.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img108&image=2754102mr.jpg)

[a007apl]

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/images/pmi_3.jpg
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/images/pmi_2.jpg
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/images/pmi_1a.jpg

[a007apl]

When you see that car in pictures... it looks like a photoshop... because it's so stupid to be a real car. But when you see one in front of you (Geneva motorshow for instance)... it still looks like a photoshop!!! I don't like... it's too different, too weird, too radical...
:roll:
http://www.coviniengineering.com/c6w/intro.htm
:mrgreen:

[gobs3z]

I don't like it either, there's nothing conventional about it. It just looks like an extended sports car(a.k.a. like ass). It probably get more sales if they went the 4-wheel way.

[mankusi]

I bet it handles like a porsche though, or maybe better :wink:

[lev_p]

It's not the first sports car to have 2 front axles (in trucking slang such combination is called "Chineese Six"). Back in the 1970s Tyrell experimented with F1 car that had two front axles running smaller wheels. Later, in the end of 1980s UK-based Panther offered a similar design on a production car. There was also a third one, but I don't remember what it was.

[zr2man99]

I bet it has some grip! They really need to put new taillights on it. They look like cheaps ones you can buy at Pep-Boys.

[ZfrkS62]

replacing the tires must end up being expensive as hell :? could you imagine the vibration problem if two of the front wheels went out of balance :( I'll stay away from it just because of the potential front wheel issues, but the asthetics are a good excuse too :P

[Minacious]

"Complete Ass" is the only thing that comes to mind whenever I see that car. Too bad too, it might have been a decent car.

[gobs3z]

The 8-wheeler that Ferrari never built, the Ferrari 312T8
http://users.pandora.be/aerogi/Racing/Weird/Weird_pics/Ferrari312T8.jpg

[racer_f50]

i remember looking at pics of this car a long time ago, and i still kinda like it. its unique, thats for sure, and its too bad that it probably would never get into serious production or popularity.
kinda wonder how it handles, though...

[dangerously_cool]

The rear isn't too bad, the overhang reminds me a lot of the Mclaren F1.

[Gilles27]

The 8-wheeler that Ferrari never built, the Ferrari 312T8
http://users.pandora.be/aerogi/Racing/Weird/Weird_pics/Ferrari312T8.jpg

oh nice, where did you get that pic.

they mentioned it in the link i gave earlier

"If you ever come acorss magazines from 1976, look out for a picture of another Ferrari multi wheeler, an 8 wheel car being tested by Regazzoni, 4 on the front like Tyrrell, and four at the back like the March. Dubbed the Ferrari 312T8, pictures appeared in the press comlpete with exploded diagrams of how the car worked, which if you think about it is a pretty daft thing to do if you are developing a new concept for racing."


ok, found it. and they mention a little more about it.
http://users.pandora.be/aerogi/Racing/Weird/Weird_htm/Weird_39.htm

This is a ultra rare Ferrari!!! I didn't know about it! Can't imagine the money spend on tyres at the end of the test!!! :D

well according to them it was never made, they just made rumors about it to throw off the other teams. now wether they are saying that to deny the truth about the 8 wheeler only the people involved know the REAL TRUTH.

"Problem was, none of the Paprazzi who permenantly camp round the chain-link fencing at Fiorano could confirm ever seeing the T8 in action. Some years later Ferrari came clean and admitted that the picture they released was a mock up, the T8 never did exist but was purely an exercise designed to keep people thinking about what they were up to next, which at the time was designing and building an Indycar, tested in the States but unraced and intended for Mario Andretti to drive until he decided to stay with Lotus."

Wow! An undiscovered history about Ferrari at those days. I can´t believe! What´s exactly the meaning of "mock up"? a kind of vintage photoshop?