After much anticipation, Dubai-based Devel Motors has finally shed some light on the V16-powered Devel Sixteen project!
The story of this hypercar goes back in time to the early 2010s. Imagine when you were a schoolkid when all you knew was cars… You’d think and dream of cars all day long. You knew everything about Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Bugattis, and all you cared about was reading about horsepowers and top speeds. In your head and heart, you knew that nothing would ever come close to these three pioneers. But then your friend walks by, saying, ‘Dude, I just found out about a car having over 5,000 hp and a top speed of 320 mph!’ You’d instantly freeze out of sheer excitement and disbelief. That was the Devel Sixteen back in 2013 at the Dubai Auto Show.
To be honest, it’s not that much of a surprise. Dubai is known as the supercar capital of the world, and for good measure. Twenty percent of its residents either own or daily drive these exotic machines around the streets. To stand out in such a demanding crowd would require something extraordinary, which has never been done before. The Devel Sixteen blew people’s minds with its fighter jet-like stance & stats: a 12.6-liter quad-turbo V16 engine producing 5,000 hp & 3,500 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 mph in 1.8 secs, and a top speed of 320 mph. This was straight out of science fiction to most people, although we secretly knew that there had to be evidence of sorts to prove otherwise.
In 2015, Devel released a clip online that proved the actual engine figures. The bespoke 12.6-liter V16 started life out as two original LS V8s developed with the assistance of Steve Morris Engines. The headers, pistons, crankshaft, camshaft, and the four massive 80 mm turbos underwent extensive modifications to work together. This was tested on a dyno that was capable of handling over 4,500 hp, and the results tell the story themselves: 4,515 hp @ 6,900 rpm and 3,523 lb-ft of torque at 36 psi of boost and on high octane gas and 3,000 hp at 18 psi of boost with regular pump gas. At that point, the crazy figures were true, but questions remained regarding transmission and tires required to handle that much power.
In the meantime, Devel disappeared from the automotive scene, coming back in 2021 with some promising news. Devel revealed more details about the hypercar, including a billet monocoque chassis with a carbon fiber exterior and an adjustable three-way wishbone suspension. The Devel Sixteen prototype undertook various tests in Italy, albeit with its V16 in naturally aspirated form.
Devel hinted at plans of a delivery estimate next year with the $2.2 million 5,000 hp track version, $1.8 million 3,000 hp city version, and a $1.2 million 1,500 hp LS V8 option available to future power pundits.
The Devel Sixteen might be one of the longest-running automotive projects that also happened to generate a lot of hype about its stats, but this could also be the last automobile that is all about the engine and its mind-bending horsepower figures!
