Eccentric Swiss automobile designer Franco Sbarro has presented his fourth Ferrari-based sports car to carry the Alcador name tag, unveiling it at the on-going Essen Motor Show almost a decade and a half after the first incarnation broke cover, which was also underpinned by the chassis and mechanicals of the Testarossa, was unveiled. As usual for a designer that has staked his reputation through a litany of wild-looking and aesthetic boundary-pushing concept cars, his latest creation, dubbed the Alcador GTB LO, stands right out from the crowd even at the Essen Motor Show where weird and wonderful tuned and customised cars hold sway.

The Alcador story starts back in 1995 when Sbarro showed off the first one-off sports car to carry the name and which was noteworthy for its solution to engine cooling. Fast forward more than a decade and that car's German owner asked Sbarro to design for him a new model, dubbed the GTB Alcador, presented in Geneva in March of last year.

These two cars though had no link between them. The first Alcador was based on Ferrari’s 1980s icon, the Testarossa, created around its chassis, drivetrain and V12 engine. The Alcador GTB of two years ago meanwhile was based on a Ferrari 348 GTB, with its V8 engine, centrally positioned, and it pushed out around 400 bhp, with improved braking, thanks to 8-pot calipers, and was glued to the road by big 20 inch OZ wheels. The body was in classic style as the owner wanted a sports car less exuberant than the first Alcador. However the Alcador GTB had opening doors in elytra and still emitted a strong visual presence. Some observers found in it the air of the Ferrari 330 P4 of 1967, a car that Franco Sbarro knew well having worked on the original models and then crafting an acclaimed replica. As with his Turbo S20, the lights were drawn from the Fiat Seicento and Smart Coupé.

After being exhibited for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show 2008, the new Alcador GTB was presented at the Essen Motor Show later that year. The owner had in the meantime fitted Ferrari badges which were covered with black adhesive tape in Essen so as not to incur the wrath of Ferrari. The name Alcador actually is just the first syllable of the name of the owner's daughters: Aline, Catherine and Dorine joined together. The second Alcador GTB to arrive was based on the Ferrari 360 Modena.

For the third version of this GTB tagged line of cars, called the GTB LO (the LO standing for Lista Office), Sbarro has gone right back to the Alcador’s roots as it is based once again on the Ferrari Testarossa. The sponsor of this latest car is Mr. Lienhard, who owns Autobau, an automotive exhibition centre that features some of Franco Sbarro's distinctive creations. Mr. Lienhard owners of several Sbarro model's himself and in 1992 bought the coupé and convertible offspring from the Helios program.

The new GTB LO which weighs approximately 1400 kg, and differs from the two other Alcador GTB models due to its engine: the 12-cylinder boxer unit with 450 bhp instead of the V8 Ferrari 348 (Alcador GTB, 2008) or V8 Ferrari 360 Modena (Alcador GTB, 2009). Other visual differences: the 2008 version did not have four lateral side inlets the the front unlike the 2009 version and on the GTB LO and rear windshields are slightly different.