Jannarelly Design-1: radical roadster
French designer Anthony Jannarelly built himself a retro roadster – then found he had customers queuing up
A back-to-basics barchetta with an £86k price tag, the Jannarelly Design-1 looks like a ’60s fever dream brought on by a near-fatal dose of steroids – think 427 Cobra meets Speed Racer Mach 5, carefully accessorised with modern aerodynamic accoutrements. Some of which are even functional.
The work of Anthony Jannarelly, formerly designer for Middle East-based hypercar maker W Motors, and hand-built in Dubai around a proprietary spaceframe, it is almost impossibly compact. Shorter but wider than a current Mazda MX-5, it weighs as little as 810kg with a 3.5-litre V6 in the back. The roofed configuration driven here features a hardtop that flips forward from the windscreen. Which is a hell of a way to draw a crowd.
Once you’ve clambered in, initial impressions are… intimidating. That windscreen is like a slot, the bodywork cocoons you like a bath – or a tank, given the cupola-style roof situation – and the only space for your elbow is within the door recess. The dashboard is a minimalist slab of carbonfibre, there’s a tiny, classically styled Nardi steering wheel in your lap, and the pedals are slithers of aluminium, hinged at the floor. No power steering, no power brakes, no airbags; traction control optional. The 320bhp Nissan engine fires on a toggle switch (keyless go, natch), and sounds like it’s breathing in your ear.
Starting cold, the sweet smell of high-octane fuel permeates the cabin, and the exposed manual gear linkage feels stiff. This soon goes away as the Design-1 gets into its stride, as does the fear you’ll strain something when working at the steering. While you’ll continue to need a bit of muscle for the brakes – best test the feel before serious stopping – I’d adapted within about a mile. It cruises with unexpected civility, yet compared with most contemporaries it’s an Arctic plunge pool of an immersive experience: an extreme kind of fun, if not for everyone.
Things creak, the Nardi chatters constantly, and as this particular car is a little low and firm
They don’t make ’em like this any… oh, they do
for our roads, you need to watch the surface like you’re riding a motorbike. Exciting! The closest mainstream comparison I can make is an Alfa 4C – but this seems friendlier. The Design-1 doesn’t do as much camber hunting and you don’t contend with angry spikes of turbo torque. Instead you get the awesome flexibility and vocal gymnastics of a naturally-aspirated variocam six, turning fourth gear into an unbelievably broad playground, and the proven simplicity of fully adjustable double wishbones all round.
Flyweight mass and 274lb ft mean it doesn’t so much accelerate as pounce – fling the chunky gearlever at a lower ratio and pull the trigger, savour the engine’s snort and yowl as you lose the ability to chat with your passenger. Unfazed by greasy tarmac, going quickly is raw and intense, but effortless. Graduating to properly fast will take time, however, as the rear-biased weight distribution begins to make its presence felt; this isn’t alarming, it just asks for respect. I suspect buyers – who currently have one UK dealer, in London, to make their Jannarelly dreams come true– will adore the learning curve.
First verdict
An antidote to modern motoring malaise. Fun and physical at any speed. Suspension needs (and is getting) a tickle for UK #### #
It’s an Arctic plunge pool of an immersive experience: an extreme kind of fun, if not for everyone