Recently, an automotive journalist alleged the builder of the Polish Arrinera supercar appeared to passing off a Lamborghini replicar as its own product, possibly to work a stock-market angle for VENO S.A., an investor in the company. Today, Arrinera CEO Lukasz Tomkiewicz disputes the claim in an extensive statement.
In reference to your publication, please find below our official reply:
1. The presented prototype of the Arrinera supercar was built independently and entirely by Arrinera Automotive S.A.
2. The supercar production version will have revamped design, definitely more organical, masculine, aerodynamic and streamlined. We plan to present new design in June/July 2012.
3. The rolling chassis of the final version that will be offered to customers is being prepared by a renowned British constructor - Mr Lee Noble - on the basis of the agreement concluded in May 2011 with Arrinera Automotive S.A.
4. Jacek Balkan sends to Polish and foreign media false information therefore he will be sued. There is also a group lawsuit being prepared by the shareholders for acting against the law .
5. Arrinera supercar will be manufactured by a company that employs several hundred employees and meets highest standards of cars production as well as possesses all the proper certificates.
6. Arrinera Automotive is the only manufacturer of the supercar – not VENO S.A.. Arrinera Automotive S.A. did not make its debut on Warsaw Stock Exchange. VENO S.A. possesses shares of Arrinera Automotive S.A. but does not take part in any works on the Polish-British supercar.
7. We will be happy to answer to all you questions regarding the Arrinera supercar.
8. The presentation of the Arrinera supercar took place on 9 June 2011. It was not an official presentation but a presentation for investors and shareholders.
We hope that you will find our broad clarifications helpful and that they show the real picture of the project. Please remove the picture that can mislead the readers as they don't show the Arrinera prototype and suggest that we will be offering a replica to customers.
In reference to the press release published by Jacek Balkan which undermines the good name of Arrinera Automotive S.A. and contains a great number of false information, the Management Board of Arrinera Automotive S.A. informs as follows:
1. The prototype of the Arrinera supercar was built independently and entirely by Arrinera Automotive S.A. .
2. The body of the Arrinera supercar prototype was designed by one of the Arrinera
Automotive S.A. employees – Mr. Pavlo Burkatskyy.3. Arrinera Automotive carried out road tests of the Arrinera supercar in May 2011 i.e. prior to its official presentation in June.
4. Except for air vents, there are no other elements of the dashboard in the Arrinera prototype that come from Opel Corsa. Arrinera Automotive S.A. stresses that air vents from Opel Corsa were used in various vehicles e.g: Noble M600 costing 225.000 GBP. Another example is Zenvo ST1 supercar that in its production version possesses serial instrument cluster from Porsche although the vehicle price is around 77.000
GBP. Part of supercar manufacturers operates in a similar way i.e. they use popular elements ( e.g. switches in the cabin) from other cars. Production version of the Zenvo ST1 mentioned above has got the Corvette C6 air-condition panel and air vents from Seat Ibiza, which costs 1/100 of the value of this supercar.Arrinera Automotive declares that part of the dashboard (i.e. central part, middle part, area under the steering wheel, fuse access panel) installed in the Arrinera supercar prototype, were patented and will be used in the Arrinera supercar production version. The cockpit has been designed, made and patented by Arrinera
Automotive S.A.5. The Arrinera supercar prototype is not a replica of any other car or supercar. At the same time, it's important to point out that Arrinera Automotive S.A. informed a number of times that the Arrinera supercar production version will have a revamped body design. The designer of the Arrinera prototype's body as well as the Arrinera production version's body, is Mr. Pavlo Burkatskyy – the person employed by Arrinera Automotive S.A.
6. In the Arrinera production version there will be used LS9 engine ( 8-cylinder engine of 6.2 l. capacity, maximum power of 647 HP and torque of 819 Nm). It is the only engine, that Arrinera Automotive plans to install in the Arrinera supercar.
7. To acquire the possibility of offering to customers the Arrinera supercar with the designation "Chassis by Lee Noble", for the needs of the Arrinera supercar production version the chassis will be made over again by Lee Noble, according to the agreement signed, with keeping the parameters of the prototype's chassis such as: axle and wheel base and positioning of the passenger cabin as well as the engine bay. After supplying the rolling chassis to Arrinera Automotive S.A., Arrinera Automotive
S.A. team will then install the body as well as the interior of the Arrinera supercar production version.
8. Arrinera Automotive S.A. declares that having a chassis made of tubes and a fiberglass body, does not qualify a particular car to be called a replica. Some manufacturers of sports cars and supercars use such bodies. In addition, cars with bodies made entirely of carbon fiber cost significantly more than 100 thousand GBP (estimated basic price of the Arrinera supercar ). Prices of such cars usually start at 170-200 000 GBP. At the same time, cars with visible carbon fiber structure, as in case of several elements of the Arrinera supercar prototype, usually cost around 1 million GBP. There is no technical and economic justification for the use of carbon fiber for all the parts in the prototype's body.
9. The air-conditioning panel from the Audi S6 C5 was used in the Arrinera supercar prototype .The production version is planned to have a different panel. It should be stressed that companies such as Audi and GM do not produce their own air-conditioning panels. These elements are usually manufactured for them by companies such as Delphi, Denso and Valeo. Situation looks the same in case of many other components used in vehicles available on the market. It is important to notice that the same climate control panel was used in the Rover 45 until recently, the Lamborghini Diablo and the Pagani Zonda.
10. The instrument cluster from Audi was used in the Arrinera's prototype only. There are ongoing works being carried out on implementation of an OLED type panel of displaying data for the final production version.
11. Many well-known companies design, manufacture and sell cars and supercars using complete components manufactured by other companies. This has an economic justification. In case of a small volume production, it is difficult to cover the costs of R&D activities necessary to manufacture own components. At the same time, it's hard to say that such companies manufacture replicas.
12. Arrinera Automotive S.A. informs that a significant part of the components that will be used in the Arrinera supercar production version, will be the company's own solutions, prepared by a team of employees and associates.
13. Arrinera Automotive explains that the vital thing when it comes to designing and building supercars is to have the experience and competencies necessary for the proper and innovative configuration particular components of the supercar. In this case, it is essential to have a suitably experienced team of employees and associates.
14. Arrinera Automotive team consists of specialists in mechanical, electrical and body building work including carbon fiber. For the past three years there have been more than 30 people, in Poland and abroad, working on the project.
The Arrinera Automotive S.A. team, with its long standing experience in the industry, has earned acclaim for successful ventures in designing and manufacturing cars and supercars.
Previous achievements of the Arrinera's team members include the following:
• creating test systems for traction examinations as well as developing and testing
vehicles;• testing vehicles on public roads and racetracks, e.g. Applus and IDIADA;
• formulating testing programmes and reporting on tests accomplished, and making
recommendations on projects concerning standards;• concluding pre-homologation tests and involvement in oversight of production
quality;• designing and constructing components for an electronic diagnostics system;
• designing and examining sub-assemblies as well as accomplishing and testing
prototype installations;• managing a department responsible for the construction of prototype cars;
• configuring track measurements;
• developing a project and producing a carbon body for a different cars;
• experiments with new technologies on the basis of high-end epoxy systems;
• executing production of carbon fiber, kevlar and vectran products;
• preparing 3D models in Solid Works program;
• completing full technical documentation for projects;
• involvement in solid modeling of external and internal shape for passenger cars;
• involvement in projects with regard to acoustics and electrotechnics, durability and
function as well as electrotechnical disturbances.Management Board of Arrinera Automotive S. A. informs the author of the commented publication, Jacek Balkan did not contact Arrinera Automotive to obtain any information which might confirm or deny the information possessed by him, information that he used in his publication.
Management Board of Arrinera Automotive S. A. announces the author of the commented publication, Jacek Balkan relied mainly on the information and materials from before a year ago (the Arrinera prototype presentation date) and made no attempt to verify the possessed information with Arrinera Automotive S.A. In particular, Jacek Balkan did not make an attempt to contact Arrinera Automotive S.A. in order to obtain information about the results of development works on the Arrinera production version, carried out between the present day and the presentation of the prototype.
Also, enough of the obvious jokes. He hates that.