The Ferruccios are obviously stubborn people. We're not talking about Ferruccio Lamborghini here, but Ferruccio Covini! The automotive world is littered with atypical characters, who clung to their dreams in spite of the difficulties and those who thought them eccentric.
Stand out from the crowd
Born in 1948 in Arena Po, a small town in the Oltrepò Pavese region, Ferruccio Covini has shown a great love for four wheels and high speed ever since he was a child. In 1978, he founded his own company, Covini Engeneering, had already been working on a 6-wheel sports car concept for several years.
Like other artisanal adventurers, existing in the face of giants like Ferrari pushes one to stand out from the crowd. Where Claudio Zampolli's Cizeta focused on a V16 engineCovini opted for three axles! "The world of supercars is a very complex one. Even succeeding in standing out from the crowd means going up against giants. Only vehicles that are sufficiently innovative to attract research funding and capital can be a major asset."
Tyrrell P34, the inspiration
The inspiration came from the famous Tyrrell P34 F1 car, which created a sensation in 1976 with its four small front wheels and two large rear wheels. Designed in this way to reduce drag, the British single-seater achieved satisfactory results, including a victory in Sweden with Jody Scheckter.
Williams and Ferrari had also developed 6-wheel F1 prototypes, but these were shelved with the advent of aerodynamics and ground effect. Small wheels were expensive to produce and made pit stops longer and more complicated. Goodyear halted the development of special tires in 1977, forcing Tyrrell to abandon its concept.
What are the benefits?
Covini wanted to transpose this technology to the road, highlighting the advantages that the double front axle was supposed to bring: more grip with reduced oversteer, more braking power, more safety, more comfort and better absorption of road roughness. However, due to lack of budget and availability of suitable tires, the project was "put on hold" in the 80s and 90s, while Covini worked on other prototypes.
It was in the early 2000s that everything came together, with the completion of the C6W (for 6 Wheels), which made its debut in 2005 at the Salon International de l'Auto. It caused a sensation with its four 15" wheels at the front and two 20" wheels at the rear. The C6W's sober, flowing lines give it a false air of Ascari, but it's hard to get used to the unattractive double front axle...
Mechanically, the car is powered by a mid-mounted 4.2-liter Audi V8 engine. Performance promises include a 0 to 100 km/h time of less than 4 seconds and a top speed of 299 km/h.
Disadvantages too!
The concept does have its drawbacks, however: The mechanics are more complex, maintenance costs are higher and the weight of the running gear is obviously greater, but this is partly offset by a tubular chassis covered by a carbon-fiber body. As a result, the C6W manages to stay under the 1,200-kilo mark. But all this comes at a very high price!
Planned as a limited production run of a few examples per year, it's not known exactly how many came out of the small workshops, but the activity continued officially until 2016. Very few videos of the C6W in motion exist, apart from a drive at Goodwood. The latest news is that "on-demand" production has been relaunched for 2022, with a posted price of 580,000 euros. For enthusiasts...and the crazy?
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I remember as a kid seeing this car in a "Salon 2xxx - Auto Journal" magazine. Early 2000s in the small manufacturers section. I was very intrigued by this car with its 206 🙂 lights.
Covinni built other diesel-powered supercars long before that, including the superb C36.