Leopard (car)
Encyclopedia
Leopard 6 Liter's Roadster is a classical sport-style luxury car designed by entrepreneur Zbysław Szwaj. The car is produced by a privately held Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 company Leopard Automobile Mielec Sp. z o.o.. Zbysław Szwaj is the company co-founder, designer, and also the designer of the Gepard car.

Construction

First historical design sketches of this sports car were made at V. Vemmerlöv in Sweden. The new Leopard 6 Liter's Roadster, with the exception of the GM LS-2 All-aluminum V8 engine
GM LS engine
The GM LS engine family is an engine design intended as the only V-8 engine used in General Motors' line of rear-wheel-drive cars and trucks. The LS series was a "clean sheet" design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8...

 (also powering the Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

), is completely hand crafted as the state of the art, small production facility at Mielec
Mielec
Mielec is a city in south-eastern Poland with a population of 60,979 inhabitants, as of June 2009. It is located in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship ; previously it was in Rzeszów Voivodeship...

, Republic of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. The current production capacity at the new factory is limited to only 25 units per year to guarantee a high level of precision in the custom production process.

Technical Data

Body: Aluminium, handcrafted

Chassis: Tubular space frame

Engine:

Aluminium V8 5967 ccm

405 hp at 6000 rpm,

542 Nm at 4400 rpm;

Gearbox: 6-speed manual

Brakes: Brembo 4-pistons

Performance:

Acc. 0-100 km/h (62.14 mph): less than 4 sec.

Top speed: 250 km/h (155.34 mph) (regulated)

Launch

Although the design of the newest version of vehicle started about 1995, the first car was completed about November, 2003. The Leopard 6 Liters Roadster was officially launched about April 2005 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, first units to hit the market were produced about late 2005, now selling for about €130,000.
Leopard is claiming the title of the most expensive ever commercially produced Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

vehicle. The total number of manufactured units currently stands about 25 and is to be limited to maximum of 200 to retain the exclusive status.
The manufacturer is preparing a new, stronger, Leopard Coupe model (drawing is available at the official company site) *Leopard Coupe.

Pictures gallery


External links

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