Renowned Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara is working on a sports car->ke506 for the road. That's the word from CAR Magazine, who reports the company that has been building chassis for various motorsport series for more than three decades will sell its very own road-legal vehicle in 2017. The news was reportedly confirmed by Dallara Automobili founder Gian Paolo Dallara.

Details are still being held under wraps, but CAR says Dallara is aiming to build a lightweight sports car that will tip the scales at only 850kg (1,874 pounds). To achieve this, the Italians->ke2094 will use carbon-fiber to build most of the vehicle's chassis and body. Naturally, the sports car will feature a no-nonsense interior deprived of most convenience amenities found in today's road-going vehicles. Electronic driving aids will be missing as well.

Expected to take inspiration from the Alfa Romeo 4C, which Dallara helped to develop, the company's first car will likely be motivated by a turbocharged, 2.0-liter engine sourced from the Fiat->ke30 group. Output should sit at around 300 horsepower, resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of nearly 320 ponies per metric tonne, similar to that of a Caterham Superlight R300 or a 2013 Porsche 911 GT3.

To be launched in 2017, Dallara's sports car is yet unnamed and will only have a production run of 100 units per year, with pricing rumored to begin from €80,000 ($105,000 as of 09/02/2014).

Click past the jump to read more about the Dallara Indy Car Concept

Why It Matters

A quick glimpse at Dallara's racing history is more than enough to realize why this is a sports car we need to keep a close eye on. Dallara has been building chassis for Formula One->ke662, Formula 3, GP3 and many other series since the late 1970s, and it is currently providing the common monocoque and suspension parts for the new IndyCar formula. In sports car racing, the Italians have constructed vehicles such as the Lancia LC2, the Ferrari 333 SP, the Toyota GT-One and various incarnations of the race-spec Audi R8. Dallara also helped KTM develop the stunning X-Bow->ke2333 2-seater. Simply put, Dallara can't go wrong with a sports car of its own and 2017 can't come soon enough as far as we're concerned.

Dallara Indy Car Concept

Dallara introduced its fourth-generation IndyCar chassis, also known as the DW12, in 2012. The Italians also provided their own optional spec aero kit for the monocoque, which eventually became the standard bodywork until the 2014 season. With chassis DW12, Dallara scored its 200th IndyCar victory in 2013. The current chassis was named after the late IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, who tested the car before his death at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16th, 2011.