Michel Gitano Pinoymade HYBRID sports car

[markdennis]

If you're a true Pinoy Petrolhead, you will definitely appreciate and celebrate today's event - the launch of Michel Motors' Gitano. Not only is this this Michel's first foray into designing and building its own cars (Michel is perhaps the foremost kit car maker in the Philippines), it is most likely the most ambitious attempt at building a Philippine-made sports car. It also has the distinction of being the first ever Philippine-made hybrid sports car.

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Pinoy Petrolheads: Introducing the Michel Gitano

[ghosthunter]

The news might be a bit premature given the prototype car is not even complete and no price nor schedule of availability has been announced.

I would prefer to wait until we can have a finished car to poke our collective heads in and around before giving any sort of label to this beyond as a turn-key "kit" car.

[uls]

the thing isnt even running yet

pinoy talaga

nauuna lagi ang hype and press release

remember all the hype and press release re PhUV?

[uls]

this thread should be in this section:

Tsikot Auto Design and Research Forum - Tsikot Philippines 2011

[ghosthunter]

Why is it called a HYBIRD when it's powered by an electric motor?

[ghosthunter]

this thread should be in this section:

Tsikot Auto Design and Research Forum - Tsikot Philippines 2011

Nope. It belongs in the "PHILIPPINE CARS" subforum....

[uls]

Nope. It belongs in the "PHILIPPINE CARS" subforum....

yeah

along with owner type jeeps

hehe

[niky]

That's actually the best fiberglass work I've seen locally. Damn... where can we go to see this in person?

[frag]

hi guys,

as the author of the blog, i think it's best to clarify a few things:

ghosthunter: even the creators of the car will agree it's not a complete car. it's probably about 85%. what most people don't know, however, is that design took just 4 months, pre-production just 2 months, and actual build time just 3 months. and the car is essentially sold - a british automotive group has already signed the rights to distributorship in the UK. that being said, i do agree that there are a lot of things i'd love to see that aren't on the car yet - many of the design features and gadgets and trim pieces are not yet installed.

also, the gas engine is not quite done yet. i'll be posting pics of the engine bay soon - you will see a large space reserved for the combustion engine. not too sure on the timeline to install it, if it will make it for the SEMA show.

uls: the urgency was due to the shipping time to get to the SEMA show in las vegas. the show's organizer insisted it be in vegas a couple of weeks before the show (which means it must be there by mid-october, and with a one-month shipping time, it had to leave immediately), and some of the finishing will be done in the US. but the car's creators decided that they should let filipinos get the first look at the car before anyone else.

niky: it was a miracle rush job, so criticism is expected. hopefully it will be constructive criticism, since that will only help the car improve. but the compliments are appreciated, too.

in any case, hope you guys enjoy the pics.

[markdennis]

hi sir frag. still unfinished the project looks promising and also i heard theyre planning in the future to build cars that are in the P300k market which i think will be also beneficial here in the philippines. nalaman ko lang itong project na to from my uncle reggie coz he shared from fb your blog which turned out he's part of the team pala. altleast now people are aware that meron pala nito. cheers!

[niky]

If you guys could give me a PM, we could see about covering it or doing a photoshoot. Perhaps even with one of the guys from TGP if they're willing. ;)

[SiRbossR]

It looks really nice! Can the guys building it NOT install the electric motor anymore and go internal combustion all the way?

[frag]

markdennis: thanks for sharing the blog post! i was lucky enough to be a (small) part of the effort for this vehicle. reggie hasn't revealed to me yet what his next project is, but all he has to do is call and i'll be there to support him!

niky: thanks for the offer! i'm not part of the ownership group, so i can't really do much other than relay your message to them. some members of the media were there in the formal launch on monday, and again during a photoshoot on wednesday. i'm sure the michel motors team would love more publicity, but the car just boarded a boat to las vegas this morning, so we may have to wait til the car gets back from SEMA (unless, of course, someone buys it there!)

SiRbossR: there was some teasing about that! i'm sure they can make an all-petrol version, but i don't know if that's what they want for the car. i do know, however, that there will be a more powerful version of the electric motor, doing around 350bhp!

more pics are up on the blog: pinoypetrolheads.blogspot.com

thanks guys!

[niky]

Sayang, just talked to Ferms at Kotse.com, he knows some of the guys in the build.

This is the same shop that builds the turnkey Cobra replicas, right? No wonder the glass is so smooth. Great work!

[ghosthunter]

ghosthunter: even the creators of the car will agree it's not a complete car. it's probably about 85%. what most people don't know, however, is that design took just 4 months, pre-production just 2 months, and actual build time just 3 months. and the car is essentially sold - a british automotive group has already signed the rights to distributorship in the UK. that being said, i do agree that there are a lot of things i'd love to see that aren't on the car yet - many of the design features and gadgets and trim pieces are not yet installed.

The devil is in the details. Such can make or break a car's value and market acceptance.

[frag]

Ghosthunter: i agree wholeheartedly that the small things can (and likely will) sway the buying public's perception of a car. i also agree with what you said at first - best to pass judgement when the car is completed, rather than based on this relatively raw prototype.

the purpose of the blog was to report on the car and its status. nothing more, nothing less. as i said, i'm not a stakeholder in the project other than that i helped supplied the glass panels. i'm just a fellow pinoy, who wanted to share what i've seen with my fellow petrolheads and celebrate the fact that a bunch of guys dared not just to dream of a filipino-made car. these guys actually put their money where their mouths were, financed and built a project (with no guaranteed profit and no government or other industry help), and are looking to show their work to perhaps the most meticulous judges in the automotive world (aside from the concourse d'elegance judges, of course). that takes, courage, committment, and yes, quite a bit of cash, and i think that's certainly worth celebrating.

[donbuggy]

Nice car. :thumbup:

[first_light]

GMANews.TV - 24oras: Electric sports car na gawang Pinoy - Latest Philippine News

hmmm...Sana naman dito na lang sa Pinas ang masspro nito at di sa Europe para di sabihin na Made in Europe.

[kulotzky]

Here's my 10 cents:

Dapat "exclusively" produced lang sa Pinas ang GT111. Alam n'yo ba kung bakit? Kasi, pag nakialam ang mga foreigners o banyaga, they will steal the idea and worsed: they will claim they invented it! That will be a VERY SAD scenario na ayaw nating mangyari. Also, the price will be too high for local Pinoys if it will be manufactured outside Pinas. It's about time na makilala ang mga Pinoy around the world. Let's make GT111 to Pinoys as the BMW or Mercedez for Germans. For the first time in history, Pinoys will be as proud as the Germans with regards to their cars. Because GT111 is very economical to drive, it can be used as Taxi (just like the Germans that use Mercedez as taxis in Germany).

Also, imagine if GT111 is widely used in Manila, LESS POLLUTION di ba?

If the car is really good as I heard and watched from GMA 7, then there is a BIG POTENTIAL. Michel Gitano can ask support from the government and Pres. Pnoy.

Ano sa palagay n'yo?

[Ry_Tower]

hi guys,

as the author of the blog, i think it's best to clarify a few things:

ghosthunter: even the creators of the car will agree it's not a complete car. it's probably about 85%. what most people don't know, however, is that design took just 4 months, pre-production just 2 months, and actual build time just 3 months. and the car is essentially sold - a british automotive group has already signed the rights to distributorship in the UK. that being said, i do agree that there are a lot of things i'd love to see that aren't on the car yet - many of the design features and gadgets and trim pieces are not yet installed.

also, the gas engine is not quite done yet. i'll be posting pics of the engine bay soon - you will see a large space reserved for the combustion engine. not too sure on the timeline to install it, if it will make it for the SEMA show.

uls: the urgency was due to the shipping time to get to the SEMA show in las vegas. the show's organizer insisted it be in vegas a couple of weeks before the show (which means it must be there by mid-october, and with a one-month shipping time, it had to leave immediately), and some of the finishing will be done in the US. but the car's creators decided that they should let filipinos get the first look at the car before anyone else.

niky: it was a miracle rush job, so criticism is expected. hopefully it will be constructive criticism, since that will only help the car improve. but the compliments are appreciated, too.

in any case, hope you guys enjoy the pics.

Keep improving it so that it may inspire other Pinoys! Good Luck!