One of the most eye-catching sports cars to take to the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend was the dramatic and eye-catching Mantide, a one-off coachbuilt project from the studios of the newly rejuvenated Stile Bertone. This unique sports car debuted under the bright lights at the Shanghai Motor Show in the spring followed quickly by an appearance on the manicured lawns at the Concorso d'Eleganza Ville d'Este on the shores of Lake Como. Goodwood was the latest stop for this car on a hectic world tour this year, and the Sunday Times Supercar Run gave the thousands of visitors a chance to see its striking lines in action.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed has firmly established itself as one of the best places to see the latest motoring marvels and supercars in action from around the globe, and this year was no exception with a number of significant new models making their UK or European debuts.

The Sunday Times Supercar Run is unique in providing a dynamic environment in which the British public can often view new models for the first time. Unlike a conventional motor show, the Supercar Run affords a fantastic opportunity not only to exhibit a new supercar, but also to show it in action on the Goodwood hillclimb. This year 50 cars participated in the Run, the majority of which have never been seen publically in action before.

As well as the Bertone Mantide, supercars that made their UK debuts last weekend at Goodwood included the targa-top Bugatti Veyron Gran Sport, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren SLR Stirling Moss, Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M, Pagani Zonda R and the wild Tramontana from Spain. Other Goodwood debutants included the Porsche Panamera S, Audi R8 V10, Morgan Aero SuperSports, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Lotus Evora, Lexus LF-A and Nissan’s new GT-R Spec V and 370Z.

However few, if any, automobiles have been as awe-inspiring as the show stopping prototypes and “fuori serie” cars designed through the years by Stile Bertone such as the Alfa Romeo Carabo (which was also being shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year in the Cartier Style et Luxe paddock) the Lancia Stratos Zero and the Lamborghini LP500 prototype to name just a few.

Stile Bertone has a long history of creating one-off prototypes based on the mechanicals of Chevrolet’s sporting automobiles spanning over 50 years. This year Stile Bertone has turned down this route once again, utilising the mechanicals of the formidable 2009 version Corvette ZR1. Employing know-how from the Le Mans winning Corvette C5R, the ZR1 is regarded by many as the greatest all-round performance sports car in the world, the undisputed “King of the Ring”, posting the fastest ever lap time for a true production car at 7:26:4 seconds on the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, long considered the benchmark for a car’s true performance.

Mantide has been designed and fully engineered in collaboration with the renowned Danisi Engineering and aims to be the world’s greatest street legal performance car, wrapped in an iconic and radical Stile Bertone design. Mantide’s futuristic design draws equal inspiration from modern aerospace and the world of Formula One. The iconic theme is clear to see: a teardrop-like fuselage which tightly encases the mechanicals and the passenger cell which is embraced by two prominent wrapping aerodynamic appendages. While shockingly bold and technical, Mantide’s unique design maintains a sensuality unique to Italian sports cars thanks to a futuristic interpretation of the classic Kamm Back two volume silhouette. The aerospace inspired design aesthetic is further characterised by innovative yet beautiful forms which are fully driven by performance: the low-slung nose, jet fighter style teardrop canopy and butterfly opening doors, as well as the numerous air inlets and exhausts for maximum air efficiency.

This car also boasts cutting edge aerodynamic performance fine tuned in an advanced full scale wind tunnel. Features include a Le Mans prototype-derived flat floor and diffuser as well as “flying buttresses” which help to increase aero efficiency, guarantee a lower drag coefficient and greater levels of down force. The final aerodynamic results are class leading, with drag reduced by 25% (Cd 0.298) and a 30% improvement in down force. Mantide not only delivers greater speed and stability, but also more efficiency and therefore lower fuel consumption.