It’s no secret that coachbuilding has been slowly making a return in the automotive industry. The Spanish manufacturer Hurtan is another name that is testimony to the return of this long lost art. Just recently they unveiled their latest creation. It’s called the Hurtan Grand Albaycin and it will be coming in both Targa and roadster forms. It aims to give a modern take on the vintage-inspired compact sports car formula. But will this blend of classic design and modern tech be enough to stir up the compact sports car market?

2021 Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster

Specifications
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  • Model: 2021 Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster
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Drivetrain & Performance

This means power will come from a 1.5 or a 2.0-liter SKYACTIVE engine. The former will develop 132 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 111 pound-feet (150 Nm) at 4,800 RPM. The latter makes 184 horsepower 184 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 151 pound-feet (205 Nm) at 4,000 RPM.

Like in the Miata, power goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. The automatic is expected to be optional. It is unknown at this point if the Hurtan will be heavier than the donor car, but the expected 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) times are around 8.2 seconds for the 1.5-liter and around 6.0 seconds for the 2.0-liter variant.


Engine

1.5-liter SKYACTIVE

2.0-liter SKYACTIVE

Horsepower

132 HP @ 7,000 RPM

184 HP @ 7,000 RPM

Torque

111 LB-FT @ 4,800 RPM

151 LB-FT @ 4,000 RPM

0 to 60 mph

8.2 seconds

6.0 seconds


Exterior

The Grand Albaycin roadster features a retro-inspired two-tone exterior. They’ve utilized all the classic design cues, from the small chrome bumpers to the protruding headlight bodies and chrome center grille. The front end of the car does look a bit busy, with three different bodies for the headlights, what looks to be the fog lights and turn signals. Overall, Hurtan has managed to execute the classic front-end design as best as possible, given the limitations of the donor car. These eye-catching aesthetics would probably come at the cost of aerodynamic efficiency, as the Grand Albaycin will probably have a drag coefficient worse than the Miata’s 0.35.

On the side, the car looks quite bulky, compared to the donor car. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s roadsters, like the Buick Y-Job or Chevrolet Deluxe Convertible. Although it’s flattering towards Hurtan’s design, the Miata platform, being as small as it is, barely manages to contain the classic forms. The sloping rear end is well-designed and makes the car significantly longer than the donor.

The rear end features a design very similar to something designed by Zagato and that’s a compliment. It might just be me, but the sloped rear deck is very reminiscent of the C3 Corvette. The round LED taillights add just a pinch of modernity to what could otherwise be considered a timeless design.

Interior

Inside, the two-tone theme has been carried over from the exterior. Almost nothing else is as classic as the dark green and tan color combination. The Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster seems to retain the interior of the donor car, but almost everything has been redone in high-quality two-tone leather. The centerpiece of the three-spoke steering wheel now proudly displays the Hurtan logo. Overall, it’s the same driver-centric interior we know from the MX-5 but looks significantly more upscale.

Price

Of course, all the hard work that went into turning the Miata into a tribute to the elegance of 1930s – 1960s sports cars, comes at a price. The base version of the Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster comes in at $72,900. For the bespoke version, you need to pay around $79,500 and if you want the bigger 2.0-liter engine, that’s another $5,125. If you want the Targa version, you’ll have to pay an extra $17,000.

Why not just get the original?

The Hurtan is based on a Mazda Miata – the car considered to be the ultimate affordable sports car. So instead of getting a mishmash of classic design cues in a platform barely able to contain them, why not get the real thing? The Miata is more compact, quicker, probably lighter, and aerodynamically sorted out the box.

Probably the biggest argument in favor of the Mazda is its price. At $26,580, the Japanese roadster is nearly four times less expensive than a top-spec Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster. Not only that but for this price you get the 2.0-liter engine and a car able to hit 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.8 seconds.

Modern retro done right

Italian car manufacturers, despite their pride, sometimes make sensible decisions. This is exactly why the modern successor to the 1966 Fiat 124 Spider is built on the Mazda MX-5 platform and is even assembled in the same production plant. Almost everything underneath, the Italian body comes from Mazda, including the interior. The engine is Fiat’s own 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four. In base trim, it produces 142 horsepower at 5,000 RPM and 177 pound-feet (240 Nm) at 2,250 RPM. This makes 6.8 second 0 to 60 mph time. The Abarth takes those figures to 168 horsepower and 184 pound-feet (250 Nm) for a sprint to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds. Prices for the 124 Spider start from $25,390. Even the Abarth costs $29,390 while managing to honor its predecessor without trying too hard.

Conclusion

The Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster is an exercise in modern-day coachbuilding. Albeit successful in terms of execution, it does not justify the astronomical price-tag of what is essentially a Mazda Miata after plastic surgery. Classic design cues have been collected from different design eras and slapped together on a compact body, just barely able to accommodate them. Sadly for this interpretation of modern-futurism, it does not justify taking apart an excellent driver’s machine and tripling its price. If compact retro-futuristic sports cars are what you are after you’d be better off with a Fiat 124 or an Alpine A110.

A Brief History of the Manufacturer

The Spanish company “Hurtan Automoviles” was founded in 1991. It’s based in Santa Fe, near Granada, and its founder Juan Hurtado Gonzales. The company focuses on manufacturing retro-styled sports cars. You can think of it as the Spanish version of Morgan, only much younger and without the history. So far, the company has introduced seven models, one of which – the Route44 – a commercial vehicle able to be configured for various purposes. The brand first introduced a car with the Grand Albaycin name in 2008 and now they are bringing it back.