Jimenez Novia
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| Jimenez Novia W16 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Jimenez |
| Production | 1995 (only 1 produced) |
| Designer | Ramon Jimenez |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car |
| Body style | 2-door coupe |
| Layout | Longitudinal, Mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Doors | Scissor |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 4.1L W16 |
| Transmission | 6 speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2540 mm (100.0 in) |
| Length | 4,165.6 mm (164.0 in) |
| Width | 1,955.8 mm (77.0 in) |
| Height | 1,092.2 mm (43.0 in) |
| Curb weight | 890 kg (1962.5 lb) |
The Jimenez Novia W16 is a French one off sports car built in 1995 by Ramon Jimenez, a French motorcycle racer from Vaucluse.[1] It reportedly cost £600,000 ($855,000) and took ten years to develop. It features an aerodynamic body with center locking wheels, scissor doors and carbon fiber parts which Jimenez developed himself.[1]
Jimenez built the Novia as a tribute to the Porsche 917 race car, starting work in 1985 with the help of a small team of engineers in his workshop in Avignon, France. Before building the car, Jimenez acquired the materials needed to fabricate his own carbon fiber composite panels from scratch. The Novia was finished in 1995 at the cost of US$855,000. Jimenez continued to test and develop it, planning additional performance upgrades. He hoped to enter the car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans under the then current GT1 rules, and put the car into serial production with an expected asking price of US$300,000. However, he wasn't able to as the French government mandated that a separate chassis be made for the purpose of crash testing. It is reported that Jimenez was also working on a possible off road version of the Novia for production at the time.[2]