Very few people today will have heard of Sbarro, founded by Franco Sbarro, yet during the 1980s and 1990s it was regularly one of the Geneva Motor Show’s talking points, thanks to a steady stream of bold - and sometimes downright odd - creations. Among the many concepts it unveiled was the Sbarro Super Eight, which can only really be described as a devilish hot hatch.
Just look at it. Squat, compact and heavily muscled, it seems to have been cut from the same cloth as 1980s rally “monsters” such as the Renault 5 Turbo, the Peugeot 205 T16, and the smaller-but-no-less-spectacular MG Metro 6R4 - cars that both intimidated and captivated on the stages, including the notorious Group B era. Like those homologation specials, the Super Eight’s engine sits behind the occupants.
A mid‑mounted layout in a compact body
Unlike those rivals, however, the Super Eight did without a four-cylinder - or even a V6 (as in the MG Metro 6R4). As the name hints, it has eight cylinders, and not just any eight: they come from the most prestigious of sources, Ferrari.
If Ferrari made a hot hatch
It is fair to say the Sbarro Super Eight is about as close as anyone has ever come to creating a Ferrari hot hatch. Beneath its compact two-box body (its length is only a little more than that of an original Mini) and styling that would not look out of place next to a Renault 5 or Peugeot 205 rival, it hides not only a Ferrari V8 but also a (shortened) Ferrari 308 chassis.
As in the 308, the Super Eight positions the V8 transversely behind the two occupants, and it drives the rear axle through the same five-speed manual gearbox. Inside the richly trimmed cabin, the attractive metal gate with the classic Ferrari double-H shift pattern stands out.
Performance figures and top speed
The 3.0 l V8 produces 260 cv - in a car that is both smaller and lighter than the new Toyota GR Yaris, despite having virtually identical power - and it is a shame we do not know its exact acceleration time. A 308 GTB took a little over 6.0s to reach 100 km/h, and the Super Eight should surely be capable of matching that. What it cannot do is run as fast at the top end as its donor: it is estimated at 220 km/h, versus roughly 250 km/h for the original Italian model.
This one-off example, first shown in 1984, is now for sale at Super 8 Classics in Belgium. The odometer shows a little over 27,000 kilometres, it has recently been serviced, and it comes with Dutch registration.
Super Twelve, the predecessor
If the Sbarro Super Eight looks like something “madmen” would dream up, it is actually the second - and more “civilised” - chapter in the same story. Back in 1981, three years earlier, Franco Sbarro completed the Super Twelve (presented in Geneva in 1982). As the name suggests (Twelve means 12 in English), behind the occupants sit - that’s right - 12 cylinders.
Two engines, one car
Unlike the Super Eight, the Super Twelve’s powerplant is not Italian but Japanese. Or, more accurately, it is better to say “the engines”. In reality there are two V6 units, each with 1300 cm³, mounted transversely and sourced from two Kawasaki motorbikes. The engines are linked by belts, yet they can also operate independently.
Each unit retains its own five-speed gearbox, but both are operated through a single control mechanism. And each engine powers only one of the rear wheels - if trouble struck, the Super Twelve could run on just one engine.
In total it delivered 240 cv - 20 cv less than the Super Eight - but it also had only 800 kg to shift, enabling 5s to 100 km/h (remember, this was the early 1980s). A contemporary Lamborghini Countach would have struggled to stay with it. It would, however, soon catch up, because the short gearing limited top speed to just 200 km/h.
Period reports claimed the Super Twelve was a near-untameable beast, which is why Sbarro went on to build the more conventional - yet even more powerful - Sbarro Super Eight.
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