We first mused about mused about the Polish-developed Arrinera vaporcar last year. Now, reports say the car's just a bad Lamborghini replica (wait, what?) — and perhaps the basis for a pump-and-dump scam. [UPDATE]
Polish motoring journalist Jacek Balkan alleges on Facebook that Arrinera builder Veno SA — a public company listed on NewConnect, an over-the-counter stock-trading market run by the Warsaw Stock Exchange — used an "El Toro" Lamborghini Reventon replica by Polish tuning firm Bojar, possibly to scam potential investors. The point being, to pump up the company's share price ahead of the Arrinera's debut.
Last year, the company touted the involvement of UK sports-car designer Lee Noble in developing the Arrinera, whose performance the company compared to an Ultima GTR. If the charges are true, they would surely elevate the deception from wishful thinking to a serious white-collar crime.
[UPDATE: Lukasz Tomkiewicz, CEO of Arrinera Automotive, disputes Jacek Balkan's claims, and insists the company does work with Lee Noble, and has moreover invested millions of Polish Zloty (PLN) in the car's development with an intent to "get it right." A further statement is forthcoming.]
Balkan also alleges the car's a parts-bin extravaganza, with interior components from an Opel Corsa and the entire electrical system, instrument cluster and center console and from a 10-year-old Audi A6.
Damn you Polish Supercar. Damn you to hell for playing to type.