TORQUE TALK
The Spano is a rough diamond with the right basic stuff to be a strong contender in the top echelon of major league supercars. Interestingly, at times I could not help but feel that in some ways it drove like a more powerful Noble M600. Given how well regarded that car is, and how good it has become over time through careful honing, this observation is nothing short of a complement. THIS IS SPANIA GTA The seed of the Spania GTA story was sown in 1994 when Domingo Ochoa, who has been in the automobile and motorsport industries for 35 years, including a stint at Ferrari when he was 29-years-old, decided that being his own boss to fulfil his dream was the way forward. He founded Spania GTA to focused on race preparation for GT and one make Cup championships. By 2004, the company’s activities had moved up to an international level, supporting clients in the International Open GT,
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The European F3 Championship, Super League Formula, and the North American Rolex Series amongst others. Scoring wins in all of these championships, the Spania GTA team worked with outstanding young drivers such as Marc Gené, Jaime Alguersuari, María del Villota, and Borja Garcia amongst others, all of who graduated to F1. After successfully campaigning a Mosler MT900 in the GT Championship until 2008, Domingo decided it was time to realise his dream and design and build his own supercar. This car had to be different from any potential competitor, and a wealth of ideas, some of which have since been patented, drove certain aspects of the cars design and technological content. Designed by Spania GTA’s engineering director, Sento Pallardó, the GTA Spano set out to be the fastest and most powerful car ever made in Spain, and fully competitive with its class rivals.
The GTA Spano debuted at 2011 Geneva Motor Show to huge interest, and a few collectors bought the first few of the 99 examples that will ever be made. By 2015, the Team’s progressive development process had made so many significant strides that the decision was taken to embark on a major technical redesign that kept the visual signature of the car but improved everything else. The GTA Spano has featured the movie Need For Speed, and on the PlayStation and X-Box game platforms, all of which are valuable awareness raising promotional tools that money cannot buy. When asked why the GTA Spano does not have its creator’s name on it, Domingo modestly explained that while his family name, ‘Ochoa’, from the Basque region of Spain, means ‘Wolf’, the only clue to this is the black wolf in the Spania GTA marque logo. “I’d much rather fly the flag for Spain,” he said.