Gillet Logo

A hillclimb champion builds his own car

Belgium isn’t a country you associate with supercars. Tony Gillet set out to change that. Before he built cars, he raced them, and he became a Belgian hillclimb champion. In 1982 he became the Belgian importer of Donkervoort sports cars, and in 1990 he set his first acceleration record at the wheel of one.

The company, Gillet Automobiles, was registered on 21 March 1991. Its home is a workshop in Isnes, part of Gembloux in the province of Namur, where every car is drawn, shaped and assembled by hand. The name is simply the founder’s own.

The first Vertigo prototype appeared in 1991 and was shown at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1992. The production car followed in 1994. Gillet calls it the first Belgian car with a carbon-fibre chassis.

3.266 seconds

That’s the number Gillet still leads with. In 1994, according to the company, the Vertigo went from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.266 seconds, a world acceleration record for a production car, and the time went into the Guinness record book. Racing came next: Gillet says the Vertigo won three FIA GT world championship titles, in the G2 class from 2006 to 2008, and it even found a place in the Gran Turismo video games.

A G in a tall oval

The Gillet emblem is easy to describe and hard to forget. A bold red G sits on a white field inside a tall, upright oval. Around it runs a serrated yellow band with black points, a bit like a toothed ring, framed by thin black and white borders. In the full logo the words AUTOMOBILES GILLET sit underneath in tall, narrow capitals.

The G is the founder’s initial and the company’s name. Beyond that, Gillet hasn’t published an explanation of the badge.

Few cars, long stories

Gillet has never been about volume. Its story is mostly one car, refined again and again, plus work under other people’s names.

Landmark Gillets, step by step

• 1992: Vertigo prototype. Shown at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1992, a year after the first prototype took shape.
• 1994: Vertigo. The production car, and the one that set the 3.266 second record.
• 2002: Vertigo Streiff. A deep restyling with new bodywork and new moulds, named after former Formula 1 driver Philippe Streiff.
• 2008: Vertigo .5. The revised Vertigo, unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show.
• 2018: Pikes Peak Vertigo. A racing Vertigo entered at Pikes Peak with Vanina Ickx at the wheel.

The racing Vertigo used a naturally aspirated Alfa Romeo V6. Gillet’s chassis also went under other badges: it served as the base for the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa and the Mostro, both bodied by Zagato. And in 1999 the workshop built the transparent bubble fitted to the official Mercedes-Benz for the December wedding of Prince Philippe and Mathilde in Brussels. Next on the list is the BellaRiva, a new supercar inspired by the world of boats, announced for November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Gillet logo mean?

It is a red G, for Gillet, inside a tall oval ringed by a serrated yellow and black band. The company hasn’t published any further meaning for the design.

Who founded Gillet?

Tony Gillet, a Belgian hillclimb champion who had imported Donkervoort cars since 1982. Gillet Automobiles was registered in March 1991.

What record did the Gillet Vertigo set?

According to Gillet, in 1994 the Vertigo accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.266 seconds, a world acceleration record for a production car recorded by Guinness.

Where are Gillet cars built?

In the company’s workshop at Isnes, in Gembloux, Belgium, where each car is assembled by hand.

Hillclimbs to 3.266 seconds: the Isnes record sheet

Founded

1991

Founder

Tony Gillet

Country

Belgium

Headquarters

Gembloux, Belgium

Current emblem

A red G in a tall white oval, ringed by a serrated yellow and black band

Known for

The hand-built Vertigo and its 1994 acceleration record

Website

Official website ↗