Meet the 500bhp Rezvani ‘Beast’

165mph, rebodied Ariel Atom gets a turbo AND supercharger, much carbon fibre and speed

People of America, meet your brand new lightweight supercar. It's called the Rezvani Motors ‘Beast', and it is a carbon-fibre bodied instrument of speed

Lots and lots of speed, actually, but we'll come to that shortly. This Californian-built Beast is actually based on the British-built Ariel Atom - it uses the chassis from the Brit lightweight - but with what's described as a ‘significant upgrade' to make it even stiffer than standard.

There are many carbon fibre panels to protect the Atom's modesty and improve dowforce while lowering drag. Rezvani even utilised 3D printing for the head- and tail- light casings, and the mirrors. They also mention that a ‘windscreen is optional'. Nice.

So, about that speed. Rezvani's take on the Atom gets a 2.4-litre four-pot, here boosted by a turbo AND a crank-driven Rotrex supercharger. It's hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox (a sequential is also on offer), driving the rear wheels to the tune of a cool, clean, 500bhp.

The kerbweight sits just shy of 750kg (up from the Atom's 456kg), with 0-60mph quoted at 2.7 seconds. Top speed? 165mph.

The standard Ariel Atom, with its 2.0-litre Honda VTEC engine on board, 245bhp and lower weight, will go from 0-62mph in... 2.7 seconds. And top out at 140mph.

There are no driver aids, CEO Ferris Rezvani stating: "By limiting as much electronic interference as we could, we were able to allow the driver to feel every inch of the road at their fingertips." You have been duly warned.There are lightweight aluminium forged alloys. There are carbon fibre seats, a carbon fibre steering wheel and Apple's CarPlay on board tooThe price? $165,000 (just over £100,000), and you'll have to wait between two and three months for it to be built. This, or a good ol' British Atom?

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