Franco Sbarro, another vision of car

Sbarro CanAm Spatule

A nice surprise at the Classic Days 2025 on the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit: the presence of the Sbarro CanAm spatula, chassis #1.
See the photo report here

Espera Sbarro ES-25

The Espera ES-25 is the first model of the current Espera promotion, a single-seater inspired by the Brabham F1 cars of the 1980s and 90s.

Iconic Sbarro Challenge

It was at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show that Sbarro presented the Challenge, which made its mark with its unibody design, four-wheel drive and theoretical top speed of 300 km/h.

Ferrari 550 Maranello large

The bodywork of the Ferrari 550 Maranello was redesigned by Franco Sbarro at the request of a customer. Widened to 2.08 m, six tailpipes, custom Michelin tires... Two examples were built.

Sbarro

All the cars

Sbarro Filipinetti II

In 1967, Franco Sbarro set about designing and building a second coupé bearing the name of his employer at the time, Georges Filipinetti. Filipinetti planned to present this new prototype to Volkswagen with a view to small-scale production. But things were not to go as planned (Read more)

Sbarro Osmos

1989 Geneva Motor Show: Franco Sbarro unveiled his wildest project yet: a hubless wheel, the ‘orbital wheel’. The stars of the stand were three motorbikes fitted with this famous hubless wheel, as well as a car whose twelve chrome exhaust pipes almost drew more attention than the four orbital wheels with which it was fitted. (Read more)

Sbarro Two for 100

Making vehicles lighter, fitting smaller, more fuel-efficient engines and optimising aerodynamics: these are Franco Sbarro’s key areas of focus. The result of his thinking is this rather odd car with a surprising name: Two for 100. That is, two litres of fuel to cover one hundred kilometres. (Read more)

Sbarro Aero

This unusual vehicle, a sort of fully-enclosed sidecar, was unveiled in 2000 to promote the Sbarro watch. This uniquely styled watch is based on the principle of the hubless orbital wheel. A feat of watchmaking championed by Eric Varone, founder of the company NET (New Aesthetics of Time). The watch’s design was entrusted to Jorg Hysek. The Aero was designed by Franco Sbarro to establish the link between the Hubless Wheel and the watch. (Read more)

Sbarro Brescia

The Sbarro Brescia is not a replica, but a tribute to the Italian sports cars that competed in the Mille Miglia. (Read more)

40 years ago, the Sbarro Challenge

It was at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show that Sbarro astonished all visitors with what remains the most surprising car designed by the Swiss manufacturer: the Challenge. (Read more)

Espera Sbarro

All the Sbarro and Espera cars

Espera BOB-e (2026)

Unveiled in June 2026, the BOB-e prototype is an electric off-road vehicle. Designed by the 14 students in just four months – from concept to full production – it is the second prototype from the 2025–2026 cohort. It is also the final Espera project before a one-year hiatus due to the school’s relocation to Sochaux, to the former premises of Mattern Lab.

Espera Sbarro S-121 (2026)

The S-121, the first prototype of the 2025–2026 promotion, is a vision of what a radical rally-spec Peugeot 104 might have looked like, in the style of the 205 Turbo 16.
(Lire la suite)

Espera Haze

Haze is a sports car prototype designed to be evolving. Indeed, the car exhibited at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show was intended to be further developed, both aerodynamically and mechanically, by future cohorts of students. In 2016, the Haze was powered by a turbocharged five-cylinder engine sourced from an Audi S4, producing 300 hp. (Lire la suite)

Espera Stinger

Five students from the 2001 Espera Sbarro intake in Pontarlier built this sports car, which is powered by a six-cylinder Kawasaki motorbike engine. The purpose of this explosive machine is pure track performance, hence its exceptional power-to-weight ratio (140 chevaux for 450 kg). (lire la suite...)

Technique

Hubless wheel

Reinventing the wheel !

Empty a wheel and make it still turn. No hub, just empty space. It's a perfectly thought-out idea that led Franco Sbarro to reinvent the wheel. The spectacular aspect is only a consequence. The aim was to reduce as far as possible to the ground rather than the central hub.

The orbital wheel has been fitted to three motorbikes, as well as to a spectacular car, the Osmos. Equipped with a Jaguar V12 engine with visible exhaust pipes and a spoiler positioned in the in the vacuum wheel (suite...)

Autonomous Motor Wheel

What if we put the engine in the wheel !

After invented the empty orbital wheel, Sbarro is reinventing the the wheel again, but this time filling it with... a motor! (suite...)

Dual-frame

Le châssis Dual-frame

It is to separate the dynamic structural functions (the mechanical part) from the structural functions of protection and comfort (the trim section). Between these two parts are pneumatic spheres that inflate and deflate according to road conditions or driving style. (suite...)

Bodywork