The Los Angeles Motor Show is the perfect platform for any young American car brand to make an impression and that’s exactly what has happened with California-based Rezvani.
The brand has only been around since 2014 and made such an impression with its debut model – the aptly-named Beast, a 500bhp two-seater sports car with no doors and no roof – that R&B hitmaker Chris Brown was first in line to buy one.
They’ve now unveiled this – the Beast Alpha, a coupe version of the same car – at 2016’s LA Motor Show.
Rather than climb in through the roof, Rezvani has taken the initiative to include some doors that actually open this time, and boy, do they make an impression?!
These unique sidewinder doors swing out and slide forward to lie parallel with the front wings. Entry is made even easier with a larger and less hindered aperture, compared to other low-slung mid-engined sports cars.
The Beast Alpha uses the same 500bhp 2.4-litre supercharged Honda engine, linked to a close ratio six-speed manual gearbox with limited slip differential, to hit 62mph in 3.2 seconds – half a second more than the standard Beast. A top speed hasn’t been confirmed just yet.
Weighing just 884kg, the Beast Alpha is one of the lightest sports cars in the world, thanks to fully carbon fibre bodywork. At well under a ton, it is actually 136kg heavier than the regular Beast, due to the addition of a roof and the door opening mechanisms.
Buyers of the Beast Alpha can still enjoy some open-air action though, thanks to the targa-style hardtop that can be removed and stored in the boot.
Inside, there are ergonomically-designed purpose-built seats and a race-inspired instrument cluster that displays all the critical information for the driver at a glance. Shift lights are pre-programmed to tell the driver when to shift for maximum engine horsepower and torque.
How much does a car like this cost? Don’t know. They won’t tell us. We do know that the standard Beast commanded a £132,500 ticket price though, so maybe plonk on a few thousand and you might be close.
A 300bhp Beast is also planned, as is a 700bhp Beast X model, which uses the same 2.5-litre Honda engine to reach 62mph in 2.5 seconds. Oof!
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is there a little bit of VX220 here?