The newest, eponymous track weapon spearheaded by Jim Glickenhaus will be powered by a twin-turbo V8, courtesy of the company’s new partnership with French independent engine maker, PIPO Moteurs.
Aiming to become the first American built car to take an outright win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in more than 50 years, the SCG 007 will receive “a whole new custom V8 twin turbo engine” from the French independent engine maker when Glickenhaus’ new halo track model makes its competitive debut in next season’s World Endurance Championship (whenever that’s scheduled to be). It’s also the latest in a rich line of bespoke – read ‘mental’ – creations for the American entrepeneur, whose P4/5, built by Ferrari and designed by Pininfarina, arguably put Glickenhaus on the map.
The announcement simultaneously discards a previous announcement, made when more rendered images of the SCG 007 surfaced in February, that the SCG 007 would be powered by a twin-turbo V6, of undisclosed origin, capable of 840hp. Though unconfirmed, we can imagine the slated 1,100kg hypercar will produced similar power levels from its new engine.
On his company’s new partnership, Jim Glickenhaus explained, “we have been looking for a partner who was as avidly questing for the ultimate Le Mans win as we are. Pipo Moteurs share the same hunger, as their winning track record over the last decades unmistakably proves.
“When I first spoke with [Frederic Barozier, Pipo Moteurs General Manager] I immediately realized we were on the same page and I anticipate our cooperation will deliver all what we are hoping for.”
Founded in 1973 in Valence, PIPO has an impressive though varied competitive portfolio, including “many world championships won in several categories.” More specifically, during its formative years, PIPO Moteurs was heavily involved with the tuning and modification of Formula 2 engines, leading to future Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Jacques Laffite’s 1975 European Formula 2 Championship win. Since then, and with wins in European rallying and hillclimbs already under its belt, PIPO Moteurs chaperoned Peugeot to three consecutive World Rally Championship Constructors’ titles from 2000 to 2002 after extensive work on Il Lione’s 206 WRC, doing so again in 2006 and 2007, now with Ford and the Blue Oval’s Focus RS WRC.
Glickenhaus meanwhile, a former Nürburgring 24 Hours class winner in 2015 and a shock polesitter at the event in 2017, has accrued the talents of Podium Advanced Engineering to design its new SCG 007, as well as key personnel from Formula 1. Former Toro Rosso Formula 1 chief designer Mark Tatham for instance has since joined the team as chief engineer.
*Images courtesy of Glickenhaus and Hide Ishiura
