The 2008 Oullim Spirra

 

South Korea's First Supercar

 

 

 

     You would think South Korea wouldn't have the skills to build a supercar given that they have built terrible cars like Daewoos. However a South Korean businessman from Ssangyong Motors named Han-chul Kim and a wealthy entrepreneur named Dong-hyuk Park joined together to make South Korea's first supercar called the Oullim Spirra. The Spirra is built in Kyunggi-do Province, South Korea.

     The Spirra's birth was very difficult and expensive. Before meeting Mr. Park, Mr. Kim created a mid-engine rear-wheel drive prototype with a 4.6 DOHC V8 32V engine that gave off a poor 320 hp. The engine came from a 1999/2001 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. The engine produced over 312 lb. ft. of torque to the ground. Naught to sixty-two took a slow 4 seconds with a predicted top speed of 200 mph. This prototype was called the PS-II. Before the 2004 Seoul Motor Show it was renamed the Spirra.

     Production was failing horribly on the Spirra until Han-chul Kim met Dong-hyuk Park of Oullim Networks Inc. and Oullim Motors. In 2007 Oullim Motors bought Proto Motors with Kim as chief of development. The Spirra eventually came back to life after five years of stagnation.

     The production Spirra uses a 2.7 liter V6 Delta Turbo and Twin-Turbo and uses a RMR layout. The Spirra has a 6-speed manual transmission. Curb weight depending on the model ranges from 2,910 lbs. to 3,086 lbs. This car competed at the 2008 Extra Time Trial at Yongin Speedway claiming 1st place against BMW M3 GTRs, Porsche GT3 RSRs, and Nizmo 350Zs. The fact that the Spirra can beat a Porsche in a time trial is very impressive especially given that it is South Korean.

     Now for the price. Unfortunately most of the Spirra models aren't available in the United States. However you can buy the Spirra Cregit EX for $74,000 to $175,000 depending on market location. This model has a top speed of 198.8 mph but gets to 62 in an average 3.5 seconds.