CarBrandLogos archive · Hispano-Suiza · 2019

Hispano-SuizaCarmen

An electric coupé from a revived Spanish name, built in numbers you can count.

Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Hispano-Suiza history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Hispano-Suiza Carmen, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne IAA 2021 1X7A0119

Origins

A dormant marque returning as an electric hypercar is a familiar move, but this one at least came from the founding family. The car is named after Carmen Mateu, granddaughter of Hispano-Suiza's founder Damián Mateu, and it was developed in Barcelona with the Catalan motorsport engineering firm QEV Technologies, whose experience came from Formula E.

Hispano-Suiza Carmen Boulogne IAA 2021 1X7A0119 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

The body is the point. Its heavily faired rear wheels and teardrop cabin are drawn directly from the 1938 Dubonnet Xenia, a one-off aerodynamic body on an H6C chassis, and the whole shell is carbon fibre over a carbon monocoque. The layout is rear mid-motor, driving the rear wheels.

2024 Hispano-Suiza Carmen Sagrera 2 · Calreyn88 · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

Production was always going to be symbolic rather than commercial: nineteen Carmens were built between 2019 and 2021, followed by a small run of the sharper Carmen Boulogne. Whether the company becomes a manufacturer again or remains a name attached to a handful of cars is still an open question.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2019–2021

Body

2-door coupe

Technical specification

The Carmen, in detail.

Production: 2019–2021 (Carmen) (19 units) ; 2021–present (Carmen Boulogne) (5 planned)
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door coupe
Layout: RMR
Assembly: Spain: Barcelona
Manufacturer: Hispano-Suiza