The Ares S1 is an 522kW, 8800rpm atmo beast

Meet the ARES S1 Project, a new supercar from Italian coachbuilder ARES Design.

It’s the first full car from the firm and combines a 522kW naturally-aspirated V8 with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission for a claimed 0-100km/h time of just 2.7sec.

Production is scheduled to start in January 2021 and only 24 examples will be built. No price has been announced, but ARES claims the S1 offers “hypercar design, supercar performance and a sports car price tag.”

ARES co-founder Dany Bahar (yes, he of ex-Lotus grand plans) says: “We did extensive research with our clients to find out what they really wanted in a supercar and, time and again, it came back to them wanting to enjoy driving a car, to have fun and not to be worried about power.

“The aim was not to produce the fastest, the lightest or the most technologically advanced supercar, we want to produce a car that our clients wants, that is simple and fun to drive and looks simply stunning.”

The S1’s carbon fibre body was designed by ARES’s Centro Stile design departure following extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies.

Few details are given about the V8 bar the power figure and an eye-catching 8800rpm redline, but the engine’s origins are unclear. Nevertheless, the exhaust system, which exits top side like a Porsche 918 Spyder or McLaren 600LT, is said to provide a “deeply satisfying sonorous roar”.

Double wishbone suspension appears at both ends along with forged aluminium axles and the inclusion of Magnetic Ride Control dampers should provide the S1 with decent levels of touring comfort as well as rigid body control at the push of a button.

Far from being a stripped-out track special, the S1’s low-slung interior is slathered in quilted Nappa leather, shiny aluminium and glossy carbon fibre.

The use of a Chevrolet C8 Corvette steering wheel (as well as Magnetic Ride Control, suspension layout and Magnetic Ride Control dampers) confirms the latest ‘Vette has donated plenty to the S1, though the radical styling suggests the bits are installed in a bespoke chassis, rather than the S1 being a restyled Chevrolet in the manner of the Lamborghini Huracan-based Panther Progettouno.

MOTOR has contacted ARES Design for confirmation and we’ll bring you more detail as it comes to light.