A new hypercar startup is making very bold promises. Dutch company Sanrivatti claims it wants to rethink the interaction between driver and machine with a so-called “driver-oriented vehicle architecture.” At its core is a seating position inspired by superbikes: the driver is positioned centrally, leaning forward like a motorcyclist tucked into the bike, rather than sitting in a conventional car seat. The company claims its future hypercar will offer the most driver-oriented experience the world has ever seen.
This is an ambitious statement in a world already overflowing with track-exotic “vaporware” (projects that exist only on paper). It also does not inspire optimism that no one has ever realized this idea before, although it is not entirely new.
Starting with the body, not the chassis
Founded by automotive engineer Santiago Sánchez Rivero, Sanrivatti claims to approach car design differently than traditional supercar and hypercar manufacturers. Instead of starting with the chassis, powertrain, or aerodynamic package, the company says the starting point is the human body itself. According to the startup, factors such as posture, balance, reflexes, and physical interaction become the foundation for the entire vehicle architecture.
The company has not revealed what this architecture looks like, aside from a few simple linear drawings, but its description resembles motorcycles more than conventional cars. Sánchez says the project is largely inspired by the “immediate and physical” connection between rider and road that exists in the superbike world, while preserving an analog driving experience. This is where it gets interesting, because we have seen a similar layout before in the past.
We have seen this idea before
Perhaps the most famous example is the Chevrolet Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept, introduced in 2014. Instead of sitting upright at the wheel, the driver lay nearly face down in a prone position, controlling the car with body movements.
It is worth noting that the Chaparral was never meant to be a production car. The laser powertrain likely makes that obvious… but ideas borrowed from it, such as four-wheel steering, aerodynamics, and so on, are real. If the face-down seating position were so beneficial, we would likely have seen a major automaker use it before.
Nevertheless, we can’t help but hope that Sanrivatti manages to realize this project, if only for the novelty. The company promises to reveal more details in the coming months.
While Sanrivatti’s idea looks innovative, the history of automotive engineering knows plenty of examples where radical concepts never made it to series production. The motorcycle-inspired driver position may offer unparalleled physical interaction with the car, but it also creates serious challenges in terms of safety, visibility, and comfort during long trips. It remains to be seen whether a young startup can overcome these obstacles where even giants like Chevrolet limited themselves to a concept.