Don't judge a book by its cover

TO ASSUME the creation of Hervé Valliet is yet another Lotus Seven imitator would be utterly wrong. A quiet perfectionist and entrepreneur from the Isére region in the French Alps near Grenoble, he has owned numerous sports cars, such as Caterham, Wiesmann, TVR - even a Ronart W152.

- Marc Sonnery

Then his desire for a challenge motivated Valliet to create his own car: authentic, rebellious and of high quality. He wanted to build a machine capable of thrilling at legal speeds while avoiding punitive French tax rates, which rise quickly in proportion to engine capacity.

In terms of looks, 1950s cigar-shaped F1 cars were the inspiration. It started with gathering photos of those aspects he liked and then entrusting the paper design process to Sbarro school of design alumnus José Figueres. When both were satisfied, the process moved on to 3D, which was handled by Frederic Chasseloup, a former Ferrari designer who had drawn the 488's dashboard.

For the chassis and mechanicals he relied on his own knowledge. Starting at 14 and then for a full 20 years, Valliet successfully raced highly sophisticated radio-controlled two-stroke 1:8-scale model cars in European and world championships. For the Devalliet Mugello, he employed the same adjustable independent suspension system that keeps the tyres perpendicular to the road surface regardless of the ride height setting.