The Adamastor P003RL is a lightweight sports car made in PortugalAdamastor is a Portuguese manufacturer of lightweight sports cars, and their first model, the P003RL, is now on sale. I recently spoke to Francisco Vieira da Costa, who works in marketing and communications at Adamastor, to find out more about the Adamastor sports car.
“The P003RL is a true race car that you can also drive on the street. Adamastor’s desire is to bring car and driver closer than ever.”
1. The P003RL is Adamastor’s first ‘road legal’ model, though the brand has been building prototypes since 2012. The P003RL was codenamed after the third generation racing prototype that was built to be road legal (RL). This model is a 2-seat road legal racing car, primarily developed for the track. The P003RL was first tested in November 2016 and since then Adamastor has been focused on the ride characteristics and reliability.
“Everything that the team learned from the first two prototypes was applied to the P003RL and further refinements were made as a result of a development program that included several tests on track.”
2. You can choose your engine. At the moment, the P003RL can be specified with a four cylinder, 2.0-litre or 2.3-litre turbo, or a 2.7-litre V6 turbo or 3.5-litre turbo charged or naturally aspirated V6. The engines can be mated to standard manual or automatic gearbox or a custom made straight cut dog gearbox with manual, sequential or paddle shift selection. But Adamastor says it is prepared for any configuration upon evaluation by the engineering team.
The development prototype has a 3.5-litre V6 naturally aspirated engine (sourced from Toyota) with 273hp that can go from 0 to 100kmh in just 4.3 seconds. The company also uses Ford EcoBoost engines and is currently in negotiations with more manufacturers for more engines.
The Adamastor P003RL can be specified with a number of engine and gearbox options3. The Adamastor sports car was developed to be fast and efficient on the track. The chassis is manufactured by Adamastor to be lightweight but with a high torsional rigidity. The car weighs about 850kg in total and all the components have been installed as low as possible in order to lower the centre of gravity of the car. There’s a double wishbone suspension front and rear, optimised for track use. The suspension can be tuned to the customer’s specifications with adjustments made on camber, caster, toe, ride height, spring stiffness, damping and anti-roll bar stiffness.
4. It’s an expensive piece of kit! The starting price for the Adamastor sports car is €98,800 plus taxes, but pricing varies depending on customisation.
“We’ve just recently made the P003RL available for sale and we are in the process of developing a car with one client. We also have six Adamastor Experiences booked, the first step of the buying process.”
The Adamastor P003RL is designed to be fast and efficient on track5. The buying experience is unique. They test your driving skills! The P003RL can only be acquired from Adamastor’s facilities in the north of Portugal. The P003RL doesn’t have any electronic aids and according to Adamastor you have to prove that you have the skills to handle it! With this in mind, anyone interested in buying an Adamastor sports car is invited to Vasco Sameiro Circuit in Braga, Portugal, for a track day where the client’s driving skill is evaluated and enhanced. The brand wants customers to continuously improve their driving skills and buying a P003RL is based on this premise.
“The buying experience is the beginning – and a crucial part – of what we call the experience of having an Adamastor. The owner of an Adamastor is more than just a person who bought a sports car. It is a person recognised for their mastery when driving a pure sports car.”
6. The Adamastor sports car is customisable far beyond the automotive industry standards. You can choose the materials, the colours, interior details and other elements. The Adamastor team will adjust the driving position, adapt the suspension system and setup, change the powertrain and even customise the gearbox ratios in order to find the perfect balance for the customer. Future owners can even go further and propose structural changes to the vehicle and new interior ideas.
Clients interested in buying an Adamastor must prove their skill on track first!7. The buyer is involved in the process from start to finish. The client can visit the factory during the production of their Adamastor and they’ll also receive regular and customised technical feedback about their car. By keeping track of everything that’s been done, they’ll be able to tell the story of their car and share the key moments of its production through videos or pictures (every special moment of the production will be recorded and shared with the client).
8. The cars are handbuilt in Portugal. All Adamastor cars are designed in co-creation with the customer and hand built in Porto in the north of Portugal by Portuguese skilled artisans.
“Developing the Portuguese automotive industry is one of the brand’s highest purposes. We want to be the Portuguese flag on this industry.”
9. The inspiration for the name “Adamastor” came from a Portuguese poem Os Lusíadas, where the Adamastor – a monster based on Greek mythology – is the starting point for one of the greatest achievements of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries. In the poem the Adamastor represents the forces of nature that the Portuguese Navigators had to face on their journey.
“Just like discovering new worlds, building a sports car requires outstanding determination and resilience. For us, the name Adamastor represents the courage and determination to face challenges and overcome obstacles.”
The Adamastor P003RL is available from around €98,000 – find out more at www.adamastor.com.pt Thank you to Francisco and the team at Adamastor for their contribution to this article.
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