Farbio GTS: Farbio GTS breaks cover

It’s the all-new car you’ve probably seen before. Originally the work of Arash Farboud, the Farbio GTS has finally emerged as a production-ready machine. Along the way it has found a new name and a new team who have completely re-engineered the original concept and tooled up a factory in Bath to begin satisfying what appears to be a very healthy order book.

Chris Marsh, formerly of Marcos, now head of Farbio, is a little tired when we catch up with him, having worked a few ‘all-nighters’ to get car number one ready for its maiden photoshoot. But it’s been worth the effort; the GTS looks every bit as good as we’d hoped it would when we drove Farboud’s original prototype way back in issue 053.

Now powered by a tuned version of the well-proven Ford 3-litre V6 Duratec engine, it produces 262bhp in normally aspirated form or 384bhp with the addition of a Rotrex supercharger – enough, its makers allege, to see off the 0-60mph dash in less than four seconds.

We have no reason to doubt those claims either, as the spaceframe chassis clothed completely in carbonfibre allows the supercharged version to tip the scales at just 1066kg, giving the supercharged GTS a power-to-weight ratio of 366bhp per ton – a figure that eclipses both the Ferrari F430’s and the Lamborghini Gallardo’s. Impressive, especially when you consider the price of £71,675 (the unblown version comes in at a smidge under £60K with a power-to-weight ratio of 254bhp per ton).

Other than the extra power, the specifications of both models are almost identical, the only visual difference being additional venting to cool the supercharger on the more powerful car.

Four-pot AP Racing callipers with 350mm vented discs at the front, 328mm at the rear, should prove well matched to the performance, while the suspension sees double wishbones all round, with fully adjustable dampers and Eibach coil-over springs.

All the ingredients are there, and the fit and finish look the part too. There’s no doubt the GTS has come a long way since its appearance at the 2002 Birmingham motor show, where Chris Marsh first met Arash Farboud, whom he noticed peering around Marsh’s previous project, the Invicta S1.

‘I got on with Arash immediately and it wasn’t long before he was on the phone asking if we could help him produce his car,’ Marsh tells us. ‘It was obvious there was a huge amount of interest in the GTS so, after further investigation, Jacqueline, my wife and finance director, agreed we should take it on.’

Originally Arash retained some shares in the company, but he has since sold them so that Farbio now has just one investor, Britcar racer Michael Symons.

‘That’s why we decided to change the name,’ explains Marsh, ‘because people were getting confused between us and Arash Cars [Farboud’s new company, developing the AF10 supercar].

‘It was a massive re-engineering task to build the GTS to a quality we would be happy with,’ Marsh continues. ‘We re-jigged the chassis and raised the height of the roof to make it comfortable for drivers up to six foot six, then we had to remake all the body moulds for the carbonfibre. Everything had to be reworked. It was like starting again. Even the windows had to be redesigned to take electrically operated glass rather than the bolted-on polycarbonate originals.’

Asked about the Farbio’s target market, Chris explains that the car is aimed primarily at road drivers rather than trackday regulars, but he’s certainly not suggesting the Farbio shouldn’t be used on track. ‘We have put it through some circuit testing,’ he says, ‘where it performed well straight out of the box. It has a balance similar to that of the Exige, and with a weight distribution split of 39:61 front-to-rear it’s very adjustable. At some point we’ll probably go racing. We’ve already been approached by Graham Nash [who masterminded the Marcos Le Mans effort] about building a car for the FIA GT3 championship.’

But, for the time being, Marsh and his team are pleased to have got the road elements right. ‘Our self-imposed brief was to make it exhilarating but also comfortable and practical enough for touring,’ he says. ‘To that end we’ve fitted a 76-litre fuel tank and designed-in a boot large enough for a couple of sets of golf clubs.’

Inside there will be a touch-screen satnav and hi-fi system as standard, along with fully adjustable Sparco Milano seats. Leather will be a £1950 option, with six colours to choose from.

Ten different exterior paint colours will be available, with special-order colours also possible. ‘But only if I agree the car would look good in it,’ says Marsh. ‘This sounds a bit petty, I know, but I couldn’t bear to see the lines of the car we’ve worked so hard to perfect ruined by some dodgy paint scheme.’

Marsh is clearly very protective of the GTS. ‘We’ve spent a long time perfecting the detailing throughout the car,’ he says, ‘and we deliberately kept a low profile to allow us to present the finished article before letting the world know about it. I’ve been in this game long enough to have seen plenty of unfulfilled promises; we just want to blow people away with the actual car.’

Marsh already has in excess 200 orders for the GTS, 150 of which have been placed by US dealers to be fulfilled over a three-year period. UK customers, particularly the 20 who have already placed deposits, will be given priority.

Currently the waiting list stretches to over eight months, although production capacity will be ramped up over time, eventually to three cars a week. To achieve that, the current 12-strong workforce will need to grow to around 45. For now, though, the build of car number two is well under way, and the first supercharged version should be here in a month or so. We can’t wait for our first full test.

Specifications

Engine: 3-litre V6, 24v, s’charger (3-litre V6, 24v)Max power: 384bhp @ 6700rpm (262bhp @ 6400rpm) Max torque: 350lb ft @ 3500rpm (215lb ft @ 3000rpm) Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Suspension: Double wishbones, Eibach coil-overs, adjustable dampers (front and rear)Brakes: Four-pot AP Racing callipers with vented discs, 350mm front, 328mm rearWheels: 8.5 x 19in front, 9.5 x 19in rearTyres: 245/35 x 19 front, 285/35 x 19 rear, Toyo Proxes T1-R Weight: 1066 kg 1048kgPower-to-weight: 366bhp/ton (254bhp/ton)0-60mph: 3.9sec (claimed) (4.8sec claimed)Max speed: 175mph+ (claimed) (160mph+ claimed)