Ares Design Wami Lalique Spyder

For anyone that’s never owned a classic car you will never know that the gleaming chromed automobile gliding past you on a country road is probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ownership. It can take hours of hard labour in all sorts of hideous weather to maintain a classic car, fighting rust and failing parts…

So what if you could enjoy those country lanes without the hardship? It’s something Nissan tried in the nineties with the fun little Figaro – a modern classic based on a basic Micra frame; and when I worked at Nissan it was still generating many a question from curious onlookers who found them parked up in roads and were surprised at the badge. The Wami Lalique Spyder is just such a car.

Ares Design are an Italian coachbuilder with a fine reputation, a cool logo and a very nice website. Ares say that they like to innovate by providing options that people might not even know they were looking for – and this vintage inspired Spyder is just such an example. With a philosophy that extends to making the Geneva concepts that we drool over reality, Ares Design are the perfect company to provide us with the oddly named Wami Lalique Spyder.

Ares are currently in the midst of their legends Reborn series, the first offering was the Panther ProgettoUno supercar, based on the Lamborghini Huracán. The car was not just for show either, with a 641bhp 5.2-litre V10 muscling under the bonnet. So what can we expect from the Wami Lalique Spyder?

The ‘Lalique’ part of the moniker comes from the French crystal manufacturer who have provided ‘delicate’ internal Art Nouveau style decoration. The interior, set in cream and brushed aluminium, with a dashboard made partly from English oak (though you’ll be hard-pressed to spot that), does look a treat. It manages to look both retro classic and modern classic all at the same time.

We don’t know too much about the workings of the Wami Lalique Spyder as yet, but images show a manual gearbox, and either the long bonnet is just for show, or some serious power will be housed within – and judging by the ProgettoUno it’s likely we can expect something special to be pushing this modern retro Spyder along.

Outside, we have an exterior that is a combination of carbon-fibre, aluminium and chrome, with delicate wire wheels that finish the classic look of this 1950s-inspired beauty. The more you scrutinise this car, the more you see how clever the design is, invoking thoughts of early Corvettes with maybe a dash of a VW Karmann Ghia thrown in for good measure too. Colours lean towards classic style colours in an eye pleasing blue, cream, candy red or a curiously striking olive.

Only 12 will be made, so don’t expect them to hang around for long.

Image credit: Topgear.com, aresdesign.com