De Tomaso Automobili has finally shown off the V12 that will power its $3 million P900 hypercar, and it looks absolutely deranged. Think tangled steel intestines meets jet turbine, with enough visible welds and heat shielding to make you wonder if it belongs in a race car or an industrial accident.
The engine displaces 6.2 liters, produces 900 horsepower, and revs to 12,300 rpm. All naturally aspirated. No turbochargers, no superchargers, just displacement and an absurd redline. According to Car and Driver, it took four years to develop and it will run on synthetic fuel.
At 485 pounds, De Tomaso claims this is the lightest V12 ever built. The company worked with German engineering firm Capricorn GmbH on the project, per Magneto, and the result is an engine that weighs less than most V8s while making power comparable to some hypercars twice its mass.
The exhaust system is where things get truly wild. Photos released by De Tomaso show a 12-into-1 setup crafted by Italtecnica Engineering, as reported by duPont Registry. Twelve individual headers converge into a single massive cylindrical outlet that looks more like something bolted to a spacecraft than a car. The entire assembly appears to occupy as much space as a second engine block.
The visible welds, bolted sections, carbon fiber intake, and layers of heat-reflective tape suggest this is a real, functional piece of hardware rather than a rendering. CarBuzz noted the complexity and questioned just how heavy the system would be if constructed from stainless steel, or conversely, how expensive if made from titanium.
The P900 itself weighs 1,984 pounds dry, giving it a perfect 1:1 power-to-weight ratio. The V12 acts as a stressed member of the chassis, bolted directly to the carbon fiber monocoque and paired with an Xtrac sequential gearbox driving the rear wheels only.
De Tomaso originally planned to offer a Judd-sourced V10 for early deliveries while the V12 remained in development. That interim engine, descended from the powerplant used in the 1997 Benetton Formula 1 car, allowed testing to begin while engineers finalized the twelve-cylinder unit. Whether any customers actually took delivery with the V10 remains unclear.
Only 18 P900s will be built. De Tomaso plans to store them at the Nürburgring, where owners can access dedicated track time. The company is also organizing a De Tomaso Competizione racing series for gentleman drivers who want to actually use the cars rather than garage them as investments.
In a market dominated by hybrid powertrains and electric motors, the P900 is committed to internal combustion without apology. No battery packs. No electric assist. Just twelve cylinders, synthetic fuel, and a redline that goes higher than the Aston Martin Valkyrie or Gordon Murray T.50.
Whether De Tomaso can actually deliver 18 functioning examples remains the question. But if the engine images are real, they've at least gotten past the rendering stage.
And that exhaust note at 12,000 rpm should be audible from orbit.
