Sbarro Royale Event, 2014
In 1979 in Geneva, Franco Sbarro presented the Royale, inspired by the famous Bugatti. Thirty five years later, a second Royale is born: a beautiful white phaeton, nearly 6.5 meters long, with a simple but pure design.
Franco Sbarro, after building racing cars, was known to the general public by the famous BMW 328replica, the most produced Sbarro. Even if later he designed original cars and developed innovative techniques (electric car in 1977, orbital wheel, dual-frame chassis...), he remained for many a manufacturer of replicas. With the condescension that entails. That is unfamiliar with Franco Sbarro. The Royal Event proof that one can draw from the past and provide a highly desirable car.
The 2014 Royale is not strictly speaking a replica. It was not to make a perfect copy of the Bugatti, but rather to be inspired and to propose an evocation of the spirit of the luxury cars of the Roaring Twenties. The body therefore excludes the lines of an original Royale. We find the same stylistic elements from other brands, like Mercedes or Duesenberg. The line is pure, unadorned, with a white shade providing a certain serenity. We are far from the excesses of some Sbarro, even if the Royale reached 6,50 meters. The interior seems even stripped, with just the bare minimum, giving an impression of space, but also luxury with the dashboard burr elm.
Under the long hood, the engine is more ostentatious. It is two V8 blocks assembled, giving the Royale an unprecedented mechanical 16-cylinder (like a Bugatti Veyron or a Cadillac). We are far from replicas powered by a Beetle engine! This mechanical immediately places the Royale in the world of exceptional cars.
Back to the cockpit. Franco Sbarro has called on two former students of Espera to dress the Royale, Honorine Pourcher and Matthew Noel, who created the Composites 21 company in late 2011a
in Meloisey, Côte d'Or (France). They also worked on the Espera Sbarro Eight.
Engine : V16 (2 V8)
wheels OZ
dimensions : lenght 6,50 m
weight : 1900 kg
text Philippe Calvet, automatic translation (so be indulgent !)