We’re Skeptical About Vittori’s AI Hypercar With Additive Parts

Vittori is said to be a new Hypercar company. The company has just teased a prototype of its car, designed by Pininfarina. Vittori was founded by Carlos Cruz. Cruz is the CEO of TradeAlgo, which seems to be an AI trading app, but its website is rather light in content. I’m not sure how much AI was used for the trading app, but a lot was used for the site content and images. One quote from a member of the Dallas Fed is found only on TradeAlgo. Another article is a copy of a Bloomberg article. The site offers AI-generated news and lists several traders. It is also attempting to raise capital through crowdfunding and, as of 2021, has assets of $278,105 and liabilities of $290,431. The firm has revenues of $3,291 for 2021. In February 2022, the company issued 100 million shares at $0.0001 per share and subsequently issued another 28 million shares at $ 1.00 later that month. Another filing says the firm generated $3.9 million in revenue for 2022.

Another Cruz-linked company, Attix, appears to be a holding or promotional entity connected to his ventures. Attix’s website is even emptier, but it does say that “Carlos Cruz is an international entrepreneur with an eminent history of scaling multi-million-dollar FinTech companies,” and claims he holds degrees in Blockchain Protocol Analysis and Security Engineering from Stanford University, as well as Industrial Engineering from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.

While Stanford offers courses in blockchain, cryptography, and security, there is no public record of any formal degree programs titled Blockchain Protocol Analysis or Security Engineering. Students can pursue a Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity or earn a degree in Computer Science with a focus on security. For that reason, I’m intensely skeptical about Vittori’s claims. I can’t seem to find how the funding for this firm was acquired, and I don’t understand how they can have enough money to fund such a project. I also don’t see how a new firm can develop a hypercar in a year and two months. The company also seems to be radically ambitious.

According to the company: “Vittori announced a production partnership with Totum 3D and ShapeUp Studios to design, prototype, and manufacture titanium 3D printed components for its three‑phase roadmap: hypercars first, followed by premium eVTOL and electric‑jet programs.” This is something that is difficult for Honda to do, and while not impossible, it seems like a rather disjointed vision.

Totum3D is an Italian service bureau specializing in design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) and usually more active in SLA and FDM, while ShapeUpStudios is a product development firm, race engine tuner, and builder. Italtecnica Engineering is also said to be part of the project.

Vittori said they used AI-powered design to shape the car’s air inlets, which were then optimized for performance. The engine is described as a 1,100-horsepower hybrid system capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Production is expected to take place in Italy. While some outlets mentioned other engine components, Vittori itself only refers to titanium 3D-printed exhausts, stating that “the titanium 3D-printed exhausts manage heat and optimize flow.” The company expects to deliver the first cars in Q4 2027, priced at around $2.5 million each.

One possibility is that the firm has constructed a Le Mans–type (LM) or similar race car, equipped it with titanium 3D printed exhausts, applied some AI-based design, and is now selling it at an enormous markup while hiring the companies it claims to have used for small parts of the project. This would be feasible if they bought a donor racing car or a one-off chassis, potentially something around $50,000 from Dash, for example, and then outfitted it with a mix of semi-custom components.

Alternatively, this could be a fanciful, optimistic attempt to secure preorders, get 50 customers to prepay in advance, and then manufacture the car later. A third possibility would be even more worrying. The fourth is that they somehow found the money earlier to do this and actually made a hypercar in a year. So far, the first scenario appears the most likely.

Totum3D has posted about the news, and Pininfarina confirmed to us that they designed the car. Still, I remain intensely skeptical about Vittori and this launch. I’m also a bit worried about the lack of verified photos or videos from the supposed launch event and any evidence of it on social media. The lack of video and pictures of the car also worries me. The launch was reportedly held two days ago in Miami, and despite claims of a working prototype, no images have surfaced. Generally, I’m very skeptical about this and would urge caution to partners or prospective customers.

Images courtesy of Vittori