The Milan Red Could Be the Ugliest Hypercar in History

We know you like to dog on supercars, and we’re right there with you. They’re extravagant toys for people you’re unlikely to encounter unless you were born into high society or made some exceptionally wise financial decisions. And that’s always lurking in the background whenever we discuss them. We drool over the specs as we gripe about their existence — riding the line between envy and disdain.

However, we’re still glad they’re here. Extreme performance machines show us what’s available at the outer limits of engineering and income. It’s also a great time to be the kind of person who loves mind-bending performance but hates supercars, as they’re becoming truly hideous.

Austria’s new Milan Red is an prime example of this phenomenon. With wealth inequality through the roof, there are more ludicrously priced vehicles with more power than you could ever tap into plying public streets than ever before. Unfortunately, styling has not kept up with engineering. While Pagani and McLaren still make a decent-looking hypercar, the Red makes the Gumpert Apollo look beautiful by comparison. In fact, the Toyota Prius is probably better looking than this $2 million monstrosity. But the Prius doesn’t make 1,325 horsepower.

Let’s get the iffy looks out of the way before we start talking about those stratospheric specs, though.

It’s definitely better looking than the much slower and similarly animal-inspired Mitsuoka Orochi, but the Milan is not easy on the eyes. The styling is supposed to be styled after a bird of prey, specifically a falcon. Learning that was a bit of a eureka moment, as it does look incredibly avian when you really take pause. But saying something “looks like a bird” isn’t always the highest compliment. The car also doesn’t look finished. Those headlamps can’t possibly be legal, can they?

The falcon theme continues on the inside. Rather than traditional driving modes, Milan Automotive has given the Red settings like “Glide, Hunt and Attack.” The brand also boasts of a feature that provides a visual representation of the the driver’s heartbeat. However, the company did not include any images or explanation indicating what that might entail.

At just 2,866 pounds, the carbon fiber-intensive Red has a one-to-one power-to-weight ratio (in kilograms), giving the attack mode some real credibility. That’s just about as good as it gets in the segment, but what does that look like in terms of acceleration?

Very much like the Koenigseggg Agera One:1. Milan Automotive claims the Red will shoot to 62 mph in just 2.47 seconds; 0-124 mph takes 5.46 seconds, and 0-184 mph is supposedly doable in 9.9 seconds. On a medium-length run, that’s actually faster than the Bugatti Chiron by a wide margin. But the Red is said to top out around 250 mph, allowing the Koenigseggg or a Bugatti to walk away.

The frequency at which these vehicles would face off against each other in situations that call for speeds over 200 mph seems rather limited.

Power comes via a 6.2-liter V8 with four turbochargers. It’s good for 1,325 hp and 1,033 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, making use of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. God help anyone who tries to use it all outside of a racetrack, though.

“Nowadays you can drive an artistic car, a high-tech-monster, a throne on four wheels — or a car, that only serves one purpose: stealing everyone the show. And this is where we come into play,” explained Milan Automotive’s incredibly named CEO, Markus Fux.

Red production will be limited to just 99 examples — not that you’ll care, since it also costs $2.3 million. But Milan says 18 are already spoken for, which is incredible. As attention-grabbing as these types of vehicles are, they don’t sell out quite as quickly as you might think. It took Bugatti roughly a decade to sell all of the 450 planned Veyrons, and Chiron orders are still only at half capacity.

[Images: Milan Automotive]