Venturi 400 GT
The Venturi 400 GT represents the zenith of one of the most remarkable and least-known chapters in French automotive history. Venturi was founded in 1984 by Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy with the audacious goal of creating a French supercar to rival the established Italian and German marques. Against extraordinary odds, they not only built cars but created machines that could genuinely compete with the best in the world.
The 400 GT was the ultimate road-going Venturi. Its engine was based on the PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) V6, the same fundamental architecture used in the Peugeot 604 and DeLorean DMC-12. But Venturi's engineering transformed it beyond recognition. Twin turbochargers, revised cylinder heads, uprated internals, and sophisticated engine management extracted 408 horsepower from just three liters — an extraordinary specific output for a 1990s V6. The engine was mounted behind the driver in a rear-mid configuration, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
The chassis was a steel backbone frame clothed in a fiberglass body, with double-wishbone suspension at all four corners and Brembo brakes. The 400 GT could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and reach a claimed top speed of 290 km/h — figures that placed it firmly in supercar territory alongside the Ferrari F355 and Porsche 993 Turbo.
But the 400 GT was more than raw numbers. It was a beautifully proportioned car, with clean lines that eschewed the aggressive visual language of its Italian competitors in favor of an elegant, almost understated aerodynamic shape. The interior was trimmed in leather and Alcantara, with a level of craftsmanship that reflected the car's hand-built nature.
Only 73 Venturi 400 GTs were built before financial difficulties overwhelmed the company. Venturi's story is one of extraordinary ambition brought low by the brutal economics of low-volume supercar production. The company lacked the dealer networks, brand recognition, and deep pockets of its competitors, and despite producing genuinely excellent cars, could never achieve the sales volumes needed for financial viability.
Today the Venturi 400 GT is one of the rarest and most desirable French supercars ever made. Its combination of extreme rarity, genuine performance, and the romantic story of a small French company daring to challenge the supercar establishment makes it a uniquely compelling collector car. With only 73 built, it is significantly rarer than any contemporary Ferrari or Porsche.
With only 73 built, buying a Venturi 400 GT is a matter of patience and connections. Full provenance and service history are essential. The twin-turbo PRV V6 is powerful but demands meticulous maintenance — turbocharger rebuilds, cooling system integrity, and regular servicing are critical. The fiberglass body does not rust but can crack in impacts. The hand-built nature means that each car is slightly different — some have unique features requested by their original owners. A pre-purchase inspection by a Venturi specialist (few exist) is mandatory. The small production volume means parts are a challenge, but the PRV V6 base shares components with more common French vehicles. The Venturi Owners' Club (primarily French-based) is the essential support network.
The Venturi 400 GT was hand-built at the company's facility in Couëron, near Nantes, between 1994 and 2000. Just 73 examples were completed. The 400 GT was the final evolution of Venturi's combustion-engine cars, following the 210 (210hp), 260 (260hp), and 300 (300hp) models. Venturi went through several financial restructurings before being acquired by Gildo Pastor in 2000 and refocused on electric vehicles.