In Girona, people who have lost their mind are said to be touched by the tramontana. A Catalan supercar team took the insult as a name, and built an F1 car with a fighter jet cockpit.
- Country
-
Spain - Active
- 2005
- Founded by
- Josep Rubau
Touched by the north wind
In Girona, if someone has lost their mind, people say they’ve been touched by the tramontana. That’s the strong north wind that blows across the Empordà. When the team behind a Catalan supercar project first showed their idea, someone used exactly that phrase about them. According to an EFE report published by Público in 2007, the name stuck, and both the company and the car were called Tramontana.
The man behind it was industrial designer Josep Rubau, a graduate of the Royal College of Art. His company, a.d. Tramontana (Advanced Design Tramontana), set up its workshop in a small town in the Alt Empordà, not far from Figueres and the Costa Brava. Rubau was proud of the location. This was Dalí country, he said, a place full of creativity.
The idea was simple to describe and wild to look at: a Formula 1 car crossed with a fighter jet. Driver and passenger sit in tandem under a canopy, the passenger slightly higher. A concept was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005, a production version followed at Geneva in 2006, and the final version arrived at Geneva in 2007. The company openly called itself an heir to Spain’s old prestige makers, Hispano Suiza and Pegaso.
A badge made of gold, and a poem in the chassis
Tramontana never published an explanation of its emblem that we could find, and its old website is no longer online. So we won’t guess at hidden symbols. What the Spanish press did record is what the badge was made of. Motorpasión reported that the front and rear emblems were made of solid white gold. In 2007 Rubau told EFE that buyers could choose the material of the car’s identification plate: carbon, gold or white gold.
The more poetic touch is hidden. Each chassis number carried a fragment of a work by Carme Pagès, a poet from the Costa Brava. Line up around ten Tramontanas, Rubau said, and you could read the whole poem.
Single seat, twin seat, V12
Every Tramontana was built by hand and fitted to its owner after an ergonomic study. Power came from a Mercedes-Benz V12 that the company reworked itself.
Landmark Tramontanas, show by show
- 2005: Tramontana concept. Shown at the Geneva Motor Show, mixing a single seater’s shape with a fighter jet’s cockpit.
- 2007: Tramontana. The final version was presented at Geneva, the third show there in a row, and Rubau told EFE the first customer car was due to be delivered that September.
- 2009: Tramontana R. A more radical version, 92 kg lighter, with a wheelbase 50 mm shorter than the first car’s.
- 2012: Tramontana XTR. The extreme version, with up to 888 hp. According to factory director Jordi Manyer, the figure was a nod to 8 as a lucky number in China.
- 2013: GT Race Car. A track only two-seater with about 600 hp, aimed at clients used to driving on track.
From the start, the company said it wanted to stand alongside small, extreme makers such as Koenigsegg, Pagani and Spyker. Its engines came from Mercedes-Benz. Later the business continued as Atelier Tramontana, building cars to order.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the name Tramontana come from?
From the tramontana, the strong north wind of the Empordà in Catalonia. According to a 2007 EFE report, the name came about when someone said the team were “touched by the tramontana”, a Girona way of saying someone has lost their mind.
What was the Tramontana badge made of?
Motorpasión reported that the front and rear emblems were solid white gold. Josep Rubau told EFE that buyers could choose an identification plate in carbon, gold or white gold.
Who created the Tramontana?
Industrial designer Josep Rubau, a Royal College of Art graduate, whose company a.d. Tramontana built the car in the Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona.
When was the Tramontana first shown?
As a concept at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. A production version followed at Geneva in 2006 and the final version in 2007.
North wind, white gold: the Empordà flight sheet
- Founded
- 2005
- Founder
- Josep Rubau
- Country
- Spain
- Headquarters
- Alt Empordà (Girona), Spain
- Current emblem
- Front and rear badges made of solid white gold, according to Motorpasión
- Known for
- Tandem seat V12 supercars styled like an F1 car with a fighter jet canopy
- Status
- Defunct
