Chris Murphy is a lucky man – he’s holding the keys to the first UK-registered, RHD Fisker Tramonto, one of only 150 cars to be delivered worldwide, and just one of ten vehicles to be made available in RHD.

The venue is London’s exclusive Hurlingham (lawn tennis and croquet) Club, set in Fulham by the banks of the River Thames, and the venue for this summer’s Salon Privé luxury lifestyle event. Murphy acts as a UK distributor for Fisker Coachbuild via his company The Car Finders International, and had recently taken delivery of the first Tramonto intended for the British market.

The Tramonto is a product of designer Henrik Fisker, the man who brought the world the Aston Martin DB9, joining up with Bernhard Koehler to make very limited edition runs of bespoke cars based on the running-gear of German sports cars with matchless reputations for quality, safety and performance. With all the heavy investment on the mechanical and safety structures amortised by Mercedes-Benz (the Tramonto) and BMW (the Latigo), Fisker Coachbuild can just concentrate on the body panels and interior trim.



The result, as Chris Murphy says, is a car that “you won’t see every day, and yet you can really drive every day, as it’s based on tried-and-tested high quality components”.

Although it is based on the Mercedes-Benz AMG SL55, the Tramonto has a different profile roof down, with an apparently longer bonnet and nose treatment, and a more aggressive, shortened tail. The rear lights are reminiscent of the BMW Z8, and the grille is the new company’s ‘signature’, a design that is unlike anything else out there and features too on the Latigo coupé.



The re-engineering, re-bodying and re-trimming work is carried out in Italy, where the carbon-fibre bodywork panels are added to a standard car’s chassis, the car is resprayed (to exclusive Fisker Coachbuild colours, this car is Titanium Quartz Metallic) and the interior is re-trimmed in hand-stitched Italian leather of the finest quality. Customers are encouraged to add personal touches to this process, and Fisker can offer two levels; the Fisker Trim Package and the Fisker Custom Trim Package, the latter offering more areas of the interior being leather covered, such as the instrument panel, centre console, door panels and the area behind the seats.

The standard SL55’s performance is fast by anybody’s standards, but Fisker can offer tuning by specialists Kleeman that can boost the supercharged engine’s output to produce over 650 lb-ft of torque and 610 hp, delivering a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds. Stopping can also be enhanced with the Kleeman High-Performance Brake System. And for those looking for the ultimate. there's the 700hp kleemann package for the SL65-based V12.



Murphy states that over 50% of the cars already delivered in the USA have the improved engines.

One of the most distinctive aspects of the car are the wheels and tyres, unique to the Tramonto. Titled ‘6061 T-6’ the forged alloys carry Michelin 255/30ZR20 Pilot Sports at the front and 325/25ZR20 Pilot Sports at the rear.



Prices for the Fisker Tramonto start at around $140,000 on top of the price of a standard car. The company can either source that car for you new, or – dependent on year of manufacture – transform your everyday SL55 (or SL65) into a machine you’re that will turn heads every time you drive down the street.

Chris Murphy, who sees himself first and foremost as a “real car fan”, is excited about the Tramonto, and loves the idea of only 150 cars being made, yet each one having the quality and reliability for everyday motoring.

For further detaiks please visit www.thecarfinders.co.uk

Salon Privé will run from Wednesday 11th July – Friday 13th July 2007 at the Hurlingham Club, London SW6 3PR. For details on the programme of events and ticketing please visit www.salonprivelondon.com

The Car Finders International Manchester UK Tel: +44(0)870 8034294 Fax: +44(0)161 788 9930 Email: [email protected]