Hispano Suiza is a great and storied name in motoring, so much so that there were two competing companies both vying for the rights at one point. One, which launched with a concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show had vague affiliations with the 120-year-old industrial conglomerate that now forms part of Safran S.A., the French multinational aerospace and defence corporation.
This, however, is the Carmen from Hispano Suiza Cars, another more successful attempt to bring the nameplate back, this time in association with the Suqué Mateu family and their winemaking and leisure company, the Grup Peralada. As descendants of Hispano Suiza’s original founders, Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt and Spaniard Damián Mateu (hence the name), the new iteration is focusing on luxury electric sports cars.
The Carmen broke cover back in 2019, but this updated and enhanced model is the Carmen Sagrera, designed to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Hispano Suiza and implement a new generation of battery. The Carmen is unlike almost anything on the road, with forward-hinged doors, pronounced wheel arches and a tapering tail.
The car’s design was originally inspired by one of the marque’s inter-war icons, the one-off Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia, built for the heir to the Dubonnet aperitif fortune, the racing driver André Dubonnet. Named after his second wife, the 1938 H6B Xenia was a streamlined sensation, designed by Jean Édouard Andreau.
The newest variant of the Carmen shares some of these extrovert genetics. Swathes of carbon fibre have been added to lighten the load and improve the aerodynamics, culminating in forked ‘wings’ that rise rising out from the rear deck (a nod to the firm’s stork logo). At the front, the grille has been revised to evoke the Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII model, originally known as the Type 15 but renamed following its association with the King of Spain in the early 20th century.
Underneath all this drama is a sizeable 103kWh battery, relatively lightweight at 612kg, powering four motors. This ups the Carmen’s range to just under 300 miles. The interior is just as elaborate, with even more carbon and Alcantara trim and lavish detailing.
The performance takes the Carmen Sagrera into hypercar territory, with a 2.6 second sprint to 62mph, and revised transmission and suspension to give the model a more dynamic character. Hispano Suiza combine scarcity and drama in a car that stands well apart from convention.
Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera, HispanoSuizaCars.com, @HispanoSuizaCarsOfficial
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