With so many pedigreed supercars, it’s hard to enter the game as a startup no one has heard of. But although it doesn’t have a decades-old story or any famous names at the top, Netherlands-based Sanrivati There’s something unique about this: You won’t be sitting in the company’s planned supercar. You will surround it.
Sanrivati calls it the “Apex Position”, a motorcycle-style seating position that the company claims will, combined with proprietary technology, provide the driver with “a sense of awareness, better balance and better connection during acceleration, braking and cornering.” It’s all about making the driver feel more connected to the car, SanRivatti boss Santiago Sanchez Rivero said in an interview. top Gear.
“On a high-performance motorcycle, rider and machine move together,” Rivero said. “In contrast, even the world’s most capable performance cars often separate driver and machine through layers of architecture, packaging, system technologies and convention.”
Exactly how Sanreevatti will achieve this high level of connection is not clear. The company talks about “immersive ergonomics” and “controls designed around natural human movement.” and according to top GearIt counts veterans from McLaren, Lotus, Bentley and Singer among its employees. But no details of the car’s construction or powertrain, or even an exact date, have been revealed yet.
Other companies have tried to replicate the experience of a high-wheel motorcycle, but have focused on the way the bike leans into corners rather than the sitting position. Netherlands-based Carver was founded in 1994 and went bankrupt in 2024, but in the meantime, it produced a three-wheeler with a pair of traditional seats in the line. A proprietary control system allowed the extra-narrow vehicle to bend without tipping over when turning. The 2001 Mercedes-Benz F400 Carve Concept was a more conventional four-wheel roadster that achieved the same effect by adjusting the camber of its wheels.
As far as providing an unfiltered driving experience, the Ariel Atom and BAC Mono don’t exactly control and isolate their drivers. And there are plenty of real motorcycles (and three-wheelers) available for those who want a more raw experience. It may not be essential, but Sanrivatti will be able to say that there’s something about it that no one else does, and something that makes a centre-seat McLaren F1 or a Seisinger 21C look normal. Given the number of choices supercar buyers already have, this may be as important to a company’s success as the engineering.
