Vinci is a Portuguese-based project for a brand of cars (possibly owned by a development stage company called Retroconcept or Retrosport (both names are referred to in sources)).

In 2007 the brand announced the first Portuguese sports car. Its design was inspired by the cars of the 60's and 70's. The car is equipped with the GM LS engine

GM LS engine

The GM LS engine family is an engine design intended as the only V-8 engine used in General Motors' line of rear-wheel-drive cars and trucks. The LS series was a "clean sheet" design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8...

, the same as the Chevrolet Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

. The rest of car was claimed to be a product of Portuguese engineering (serious doubts on this matter are expressed on the Portuguese Wikipedia page for the car), produced with the experience of working for other brands like UMM

UMM

UMM may refer to:* UN/CEFACT's Modeling Methodology , a business process modeling methodology of the United Nations* UMM , a metal works factory and former Portuguese automobile manufacturer* U.M.M., a portuguese EBM band...

 and Bravia

Bravia

Bravia can refer to:* Sony BRAVIA, a range of televisions* Bravia , an airline* Bravia , a Portuguese vehicle manufacturer...

 (builder of the Chaimite series of armoured vehicles). The brand, Vinci, is also developing other models like Vinci Sport, Vinci TT (from the Portuguese "Todo-o-terreno" All Terrain) and Vinci Eco (a 'nature-friendly' car). The company wants to forget less successful Portuguese experiences in the automotive industry, such as UMM and Bravia, and instead follow the example of AJP

AJP Motos

AJP Motos is a Portuguese enduro and off-road motorcycles manufacturer.The company was founded in 1987 by brothers António Pinto and Jorge Pinto in Penafiel, a city in the North of Portugal...

, a Portuguese builder of motorcycles.

Some sources suggest that CEIIA (Centro para a Excelência e Inovação na Indústria Automóvel), from Maia Municipality, was involved in the original development of the car, although the CEIIA site contained no obvious reference to the car in April 2009.

On 2009-04-19 the Brazilian TV program Auto Esporte ran an article on the car. The program reported that the Auto Museu Da Maia, a car museum in the town of Maia, near the city of Porto, Portugal, had some role in the development of the car.

External links

• magazine article - presents a car with a somewhat different design from that shown on Brazilian TV in April 2009.
• CEIIA - Centro para a Excelência e Inovação na Indústria Automóvel - possibly involved in the original development of the car.
• Retroconcept