Vermot AG has returned to the market after more than 60 years with the launch of a new super sports car called the Veritas RS III. This vehicle pays tribute to its legendary ancestors and was shown to the public for the first time at the Salon Privé in London in Summer 2009. It was voted "Best Super Car" by that very audience.
The car was first shown as a concept back in 2001 and took its inspiration from boats, a market in which Vermot dabbled in at one time. Testings for the production version started back in 2008 and after only one year, the company brought the production version to the market. It will combine elements from BMW, Öhlins,Recaro, MF, and Dunlop.
There will only be 30 units produced at a price of $514,706. Every single Veritas RS III will be handmade on-site at the Nürburgring.
Hit the jump to read more about the Veritas RS III.
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Working in what clearly is a backwards order, Veritas has let slip that they are working on a coupe version of their RS III with design inspiration following their drop top model. The first images of the future model were taken by CarAdvice as they strolled through the company’s German headquarters as part of a tour.
The only details that were provided for the coupe version are that it will not be powered by the RS III’s naturally aspirated 5.0 Liter V10 from the BMW M5, but will get its juice from the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine used in the X5M and X6M. According to Veritas "this engine needs a lot of cooling, much more than the V10." Once all of the necessary modifications have been made, including aerodynamics changes, this engine will be able to achieve over 550 HP, which is a far cry from the RS III’s 507 HP.
We’re expecting to see the other version of the RS III - the RS III Hybrid - much sooner than the new coupe planned. Both the Roadster and Hybrid are priced at or around $500,000, so we expect the more powerful coupe to get a price tag with a few more thousand dollars attached to it.
We’ve heard tons of tidbits about the Veritas RS III, but most important, that it is powered by a 5.0 Liter V10 power plant sourced from a BMW M5 and tuned to produce 600 HP. It can’t get much better than that, but what it can do is hop on over to the opposite side of the spectrum and go hybrid.
The Verita RS III is said to be adding a 105 kilowatt electric motor that will send the power to the front wheels to the V10 setup, adding 500lbs to the mix. This will leave the Veritas with a still respectable curb weight of 2,821 pounds. It will also be utilizing the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) to power the battery while braking. The Veritas III will have an average of 31 miles on electric power alone while driving at city speeds, but the V10 will be ready when the driver slams down on the pedal. For some numbers that we can really sink our teeth into, the Verita RS III Hybrid will be able to get from 0-62mph in only 3.1 seconds (standard model does it in 3.2), while top speed sits at 205mph.
A production version of the Veritas RS III Hybrid will be revealed this summer, followed by a full electric version in 2013.
UPDATE 03/15/2011: Anyone interested in the Veritas RS III Hybrid better start packing their piggy bank with something larger than quarters. Translogic is reporting that the hybrid Veritas is expected to be priced at around $500K.
Vermot AG has announced that production of the Veritas RS III Roadster has commenced and that the first deliveries of the radical looking German super car will begin in January of 2010, but even more importantly, only a select few will be able to enjoy the 21st century retro race car. Priced $514,706 only 30 examples of the open air limited edition Veritas RSIII sports car will be constructed and eight of them have already been spoken for. That leaves just 22 more RS III’s left to be tucked away inside a few privileged customers collections.
Offering up a very unique 1+1 layout, the Veritas RS III is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.0 Liter V10 power plant that makes a maximum output of 507 HP sourced from a BMW M5. Just like the production car, the exotic high revving ten cylinder engine can be mated to either a 7 speed SMG transmission or an optional 6 speed manual gearbox for those owners who are looking for a more visceral driving experience. Either way with a 0 to 60 MPH time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 216 MPH, it is unlikely that drivers will give a damn when pushing their modern day 1950’s BMW inspired sports car to the limit.
The specialty automaker Veritas has a rich racing history that dates back to the 1940’s. The original cars were tuned BMW’s, the first of which was used in 1947 by the Formula 1 racer, Karl Kling, for a win at Hockenheim. Kling would later go on to Mercedes Benz Silver Arrows fame and Veritas would go on to build very desirable sports cars. So when the post war automaker announced that the RS III supercar would make its world debut at London Motor Show, most speculators expected the new super car to carry a price tag of around $375,000.
It turns out that those estimates were a little conservative to say the least. Well Veritas has just announced that the RSIII will carry a price tag of €342,000; that’s approximately $485,000 here in the U.S. So it looks we will be waiting for the coupe or SUV to come out before the cost will allow us to get behind the wheel of one.
The car is a modern-day interpretation of the classic Veritas racing cars. Just like the original, the Veritas will be powered by a BMW engine, except that this is a modern 5.0 Liter V10 power plant sourced from an M5 and tuned to produce 600 HP. The silver speedster is a bit of a lightweight, tipping the scales at just 2,360 pounds, meaning that the RS III will have an excellent power to weight ratio. This will allow the super car to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 217 MPH.
For those less fortunate, Veritas will also offer a V8 powered version with a slightly lower top speed of 204 MPH and a few tenths slower to 60 MPH, cocking a time of 3.6 seconds.
