2009 a.d. Tramontana R-edition.
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 12:16 
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
If you think about it hard, there isn’t anything cool that has come out of Spain in a while. There are a couple Tapas restaurants here and there but then again, we can’t call those exciting, as we’d any day prefer eating at a sushi bar. So today we were extremely excited when we heard that Spain had released a 720hp super car. That was until we saw it! This car is beastly and Spain has failed us again. We cannot lie, there are some good things about the a.d. Tramontana R-edition but on the other hand there are many things we just dont understand!
| Specifications: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE: | 5.5 liter V12 |
0-100km/h (62mph): | 3.7 seconds |
| ASPIRATION: | Twinturbo | TOP SPEED: | over 325km/h (204mph) |
| HP: |
720hp |
WEIGHT/HP: | 1.76kg/hp |
| HP/LITER: |
130.9 hp/liter | 0-200km/h (124mph) |
10.15 seconds |
| TORQUE: | 680 ft-lbs at 4000rpm |
1 KILOMETER: | - |
| WEIGHT: | 1,268kg (2,800lbs) | PRICE: | € 385,000 ($500,000) |
THE GOOD
The Tramontana is powered by a Mercedes-Benz 5.5 liter twin turbocharged engine that pumps out 720 hp. The performance figures are astonishing, 0-100km/h (62mph) comes in 3.7 and the 0-200km/h (124mph) comes in 10.15 seconds. If you feel like testing the a.d. Tramontana R-edition’s top speed, you will be driving at 325km/h (204mph). The fact that the driver sits in the middle of the car makes it’s balance exceptional and the Tramontana has a 50/50 weight distribution. This car has truly astonishing performances but it doesn’t mean we like it at all!
THE BAD
For the bad things, let’s start with the driver and passenger layout, which is set like a fighter aircraft. Yes, this sounds cool but while driving, do you really want to be screaming to your passenger back and forth and not having any contact? You might argue that this car is not made for going on road trips, but you are wrong! Modern super cars need to be just as nimble on the road as off the road.
Now for the very bad, the a.d Tramontana R-edition costs 385,000 euros ($500,000). You might as well buy a Caterham R500 which will cost you 44,00 euros ($60,000). The Caterham will take you from 0-100km/h in 2.88 seconds versus 3.7 seconds for the a.d. Tramontana R-edition. The a.d. Tramontana R-edition will take you to 325km/h versus 250km/h for the Caterham but 75km/h shouldn’t be costing you 330,000 euros for two cars which basically have the same purpose.
THE UGLY
The second no no is the styling; the a.d. Tramontana R-edition is anything but pretty.
Let’s compare it to an Ferrari Enzo. The Enzo by many standards is not a pretty car either, but the car enthusiasts can see that it was designed with heritage and passion, you can sense that it was designed for a purpose and that it looks like it still might be fun to drive on the road. That’s because it looks like a car! The a.d. Tramontana R-editon is ugly, it is an F1 inspired mix of a plane and a Ariel Atom with a little bit of Le Mans LMP Prototype. All the cars I mention before are cool but not if you mix them all in one. No it’s not a looker (looker = Alfa Romeo 8C Competitizione) and no, we do not approve. Some could say that its radical and provoking, but those people don’t count.
When I had finished writing this article I looked again at the pictures of the a.d. Tramontana R-edition and they got me intrigued! Had this car grown on me? Maybe, but probably not.
