Italy's Fornasari Presents the New RR99

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Nov 23rd 2009 at 11:02AM

Used to be if you wanted an exotic Italian automobile, you were looking at a two-door sportscar. Maserati's Quattroporte and Lamborghini's LM002 proved the exceptions, but even the most expensive luxury sport-utility vehicles were boxy, slow-moving machines. Long before Porsche came along with their Cayenne, however, Fornasari was working on a formula for the best of both worlds. For years they produced the three-door RR450 and RR600, but now they've come out with their first five-door sport-ute, and the numbers are unbelievable.

Powered by a 6-liter V8 provided by GM driving 610 horsepower to all four wheels via 60/40 rear split limited-slip differential and six-speed gearbox, Fornasari claims their latest SUV can reach 62 miles per hour in just 3.8 seconds and hit 174 mph flat out. All this in a coachbuilt Italian body. Pricing and availability are not yet available, but with an item like this, if you have to ask....

Gallery: Fornasari RR99