Boutique automaker Rezvani, who manufactures their outlandishly beautiful carbon fibre creations based on super-lightweight Ariel Atoms, have revealed their newest model, the subtly named Beast Alpha, at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Its far-out looks aside, the Beast Alpha isn’t actually the most powerful version they will make (but with over 500hp/tonne will still prove to be face-rippingly rapid). That standing goes to their Beast X, a derivative of the original Beast that uses the same 2.4-litre Honda K24 engine that Ariel uses for the Atom, but twin-turbocharged to over 522kW and is nearing its final stages to a full release.
The original Beast debuted in 2014, dressed in a full carbon fibre tuxedo and powered by same supercharged 2.4-litre Honda engine that was slotted into the Atom. That powertrain, tuned to 373kW, is carried over to the Beast Alpha, which is aimed as a more civilised alternative replete with luxuries such as an actual roof (which is removable), air conditioning, airbags, and an option to have it fitted with a sequential automatic.
In a further effort to make the Beast Alpha more road friendly and suitable for everyday use, Rezvani has developed special doors that slides out and forward to allow access. Ferris Rezvani, the car’s creator, says that the unique mechanism provides a less hindered aperture than the conventional mid-engine car’s ingress and egress methods.
Both the earlier Beast and more powerful upcoming Beast X have an uninterrupted carbon fibre shell that only permits access to the driver and passenger by climbing over. The roofed nature of the Beast Alpha necessitated a solution that not only worked with the compact skeleton of the Atom but also did not compromise structural rigidity. The doors, once closed, do still play a large part in stress transference when driving.
Still, even with the additional panels up top and the ‘sidewinder’ door mechanisms, the Rezvani Beast Alpha tips the scales at just 884kg. Coupled with its 373kW supercharged engine, and 3.2 seconds is all that it is claimed to need in order to dispatch 100km/h from rest.
