Greece’s 3,000-Horsepower Chaos Is an ‘Ultra Car’

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The idea of a state-of-the-art supercar coming out of Greece—a country with no significant motor vehicle heritage—isn’t that surprising, because we have a precedent: Rimac. Rimac is at the cutting-edge of electric vehicle innovation; is building the Nevera hypercar; has significant Porsche investment; and recently merged with the storied Bugatti brand. It’s based in Croatia. 

The two companies are quite different, but are known for engineering excellence. Spyros Panopoulos (SP) Automotive has a reputation for making fast cars go faster—much faster. The 43-year-old Panopoulos created a 2,000-horsepower Lamborghini, and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 with 2,880 horsepower that, in Abu Dhabi in 2019, completed a quarter mile in 7.7 seconds. His two-seat
Chaos
“ultra car,” to be unveiled in early November, is no less intimidating. 

According to the company website, it’s four-liter V10 with twin turbochargers, titanium camshafts, and four valves per cylinder will produce 2,000 horsepower in the milder version, and 3,000 in the hotter iteration that revs to 12,000 rpm. Zero to 62 miles per hour is said to take 1.8 seconds, and, rather unbelievably, top speed is said to be 310 miles per hour. It will have an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, fully independent suspension, and all-wheel drive. The body will be made of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and the chassis of an extremely strong synthetic polymer called Zylon. 

Trained as a computer programmer, Panopoulos founded his performance tuning company in 1997, and became heavily involved in all forms of racing, from hill climbs to drag races. By 2005, he was creating his own high-spec performance parts. He raced the cars he created, including that record-setting Mitsubishi Evo. 

Plans for the Chaos go back to 2019, when Panopoulos decided to create “something more than a hypercar” from scratch, using his own engine and other components. His formula was a lightweight car, using advanced materials, with intense power. “For every two horsepower there is one kilogram of mass,” the website says. “The vehicle moving from A to B will need half the time needed by a hypercar or megacar.”

Not everyone will be able to drive a Chaos, since Panopoulos cautions that the pilot will need “special driving skills and a better perception of space in order to reach the vehicle’s potential.” 

Despite the over-the-top power, Panapoulos insists the Chaos will be legal on the street, he told GreekReporter.com. “Chaos is not a racing car, it is a city car, a car for every day, only with more sophisticated performance. We want it to be suitable for the everyday commute,” he said. 

According to SP Automotive, only 100 Chaos cars will be built, at a rate of 15 to 20 per year. The starting price for the “base” car is US$6.3 million, and for the 3,000-horsepower version fully optioned, US$14.3 million. 

Rimac’s electric US$2.4 million Nevera is only slightly less potent and exclusive. With 1,914 horsepower on tap, it has a reported top speed of 258 mph, and zero to 60 in 1.9 seconds. Only 150 will be built globally. Since it’s an electric car, the range from the 120-kilowatt-hour battery pack is relevant—340 miles, but that’s in very forgiving European testing. The first customer cars are, after some delays, expected to be delivered in December.