The Oullim Spirra is a

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

manufactured by Oullim Motors, a subsidiary of Oullim Networks. The company headquarters are located in Yangjae-dong in

Gangnam Gangnam (), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in Seoul. While Gangnam can refer to the entire region of Seoul south of the Han River, the region is generally defined as consisting of the city ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

while the production facility is located in

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

just south of Seoul. Oullim Motors was co-founded in 2007 by former

Ssangyong Motors The KG Mobility Corporation (, ), abbreviated as KGM, is a South Korean automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to Dong-A Motor, a manufacturer established in 1954. The company was named SsangYong Motor Company in 1988, following i ...

designer Han-chul Kim and Dong-hyuk Park, the founder and CEO of Oullim Networks. The Spirra had been in production from 2008 to 2017, and was available in various countries including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, Malaysia and the Netherlands.

Introduction

The initial conception of a Korean exotic

was envisioned by Han-chul Kim in the mid 1990s, then a designer at

SsangYong Motors The KG Mobility Corporation (, ), abbreviated as KGM, is a South Korean automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to Dong-A Motor, a manufacturer established in 1954. The company was named SsangYong Motor Company in 1988, following i ...

. Upon the inception of a tangible vision, Kim quit Ssangyong Motors to further pursue the dream of building a

and founded

Proto Motors Proto Motors () was a South Korean sports car manufacturer and coachbuilder. History Proto Motors was established in 1997 by the couple Han-chul Kim and Ji-sun Choi. The company has forged partnerships with Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, ...

with his wife, a researcher at

Asia Motors Asia Motors Industries, doing business as, traded as Asia Motors (, ), was a South Korean car manufacturer established in 1965 and closed in 1999. From 1976 onwards, it was a subsidiary of Kia Motors. History In 1962, as one of the measures ...

. The original

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout ...

rear-wheel-drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

design featured a Ford-derived V8 engine with an output of . This engine was from the 1999/2001

Ford Mustang SVT Cobra The Ford SVT Mustang Cobra (also known as "SVT Mustang Cobra, SVT Cobra," or simply as "Cobra") is a pony car that was built by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company's Special Vehicle Team division (or SVT) for the 1993 to 2004 mod ...

. With the engine the Spirra has a claimed 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time under 4.0 seconds with an expected top speed of . A prototype, developed to compete as a competent sports car, was codenamed the PS-II and revealed to the public for the first time at the 2000

Seoul Motor Show The Seoul Mobility Show () is a biennial auto show held at KINTEX (Korea International Exhibition Center), Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. Hosted by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), it is recognized as an international show by the Orga ...

. The PS-II was renamed the Spirra before being debuted at the 2004 Beijing Motor Show. Initial production attempts failed due to insufficient funds and the project was delayed indefinitely. The production of the Spirra became feasible when Kim coincidentally met Dong-hyuk Park, an ardent car enthusiast and successful IT entrepreneur. Park had established Oullim Networks Inc, a firm specializing in internet securities. He also founded Oullim Motors, a subsidiary of the Oullim conglomerate concentrating on the development, design and innovation of motor vehicles. In 2007,

was acquired by Oullim Motors with Kim as chief of development, and under new management the Spirra project was rejuvenated after five years of stagnation.

Production models

The Spirra lineup consisted of four different trims under the names Spirra N, Spirra S, Spirra Turbo and Spirra EX. All engines before CregiT are based on the DOHC 2656 cc V6 Delta engine. These engines undergo extensive calibrations and modifications for increased performance, power and responsiveness suitable for applications requiring such characteristics. All of Spirra CregiT used DOHC 3778 cc V6 Lambda RS engine. Specifications of the Spirra (Iconic, N, S, T, EX Models)

Spirra EX

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 3.5s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra T

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 3.8s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra S

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 4.6s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra N

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 6.8s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra Iconic

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 4.6s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra CregiT N

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 4.4s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – N.A * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra CregiT Turbo

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 4.0s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – N.A * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque –

Spirra CregiT EX

* 0–100 km/h(62 mph) – 3.5s * Top speed – * Curb weight(dry) – N.A * Max. power (SAE net) – * Max. torque – Pricing: (Variable, depending on market location) * $74,000 - $175,000 .S Dollars Electric Spirra An all-electric variant of the Spirra was in development, similar to the likes of the Tesla Roadster. Relying primarily on electricity, the vehicle was co-developed by a Dutch company known as Electric Power Holland; they were also the sole dealer of Spirras in the European Union and subsequently had exclusive rights to develop the car. Specifications for the Spirra E were not available, but unverified sources claimed a top speed of 125 mph 01 km/h a 0-62 mph time of 5.3 seconds, and a maximum cruising range of 120 miles 00 km

Racing

The racing version of the Spirra was designed to compete in the KGTM tour. The V6 2.7 24V Twin Turbo engine has been further tweaked to produce and reach 338 km/h (211 mph). The team won its debut race at Yongin Speedway in the 2008 Extra Time Trial and took 1st place in the 2008 series.{{Cite web, url=http://spirra.co.kr/index.php/motorsports/oullimracingteam/ , title=Oullim racingteam , access-date=2010-02-01 , archive-date=2010-07-26 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726132642/http://www.spirra.co.kr/index.php/motorsports/oullimracingteam , url-status=dead Competent race cars such as the

BMW M3 GTR The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial mode ...

, Porsche GT3 RSR and Nismo

350Z : The Nissan 350Z (known as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) in Japan) is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered prod ...

were participants in the KGTM tour.

References

Automotive industry in South Korea Companies based in Seoul Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2007 South Korean brands 2010s cars Mid-engined vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports cars Coupés