We’ve talked about the Ariel Atom-based low-volume sportscar, the Rezvani Beast, before. We were happy to find that the striking-looking car is real, and now, not only have they started building them, they’ve even sold one — to Chris Brown, who’s using it in a new video.
I think the Beast turned out to be a really great-looking car, and with an Atom as its base, I suspect it has the performance to match, though I’m not too optimistic that the ones sold will really be used in any way close to what they’re capable of. Still, it’s nice to see a small, startup manufacturer get attention for their cars, and it sure as hell seems like Rezvani is getting that.
That’s because there’s some sort of incomprehensible-to-a-geeky-dad-like me drama shit going down regarding the Beast and its purchase (at $165,000, which includes a $30,000 rush charge) by Chris Brown. Apparently, there was a sort of bidding war for this first Beast between Chris Brown and rapper Tyga, who wanted to give the car to Kylie Jenner on her 18th birthday, or something? Honestly, I barely know who any of these people are, because, remember, I pay attention only to cars and the occasional screamed demands that I take a goddamn shower, already.
What I do know is that now the Rezvani name is known to a vast swath of people who would never likely have heard of it before, and that name has been in the context of something exotic and desirable. This is fantastic PR for Rezvani.
I also know that it’s probably a good thing that Kylie Jenner wasn’t given the car for her 18th birthday, because whoever the hell thinks it would be a good idea to give an 18-year-old a rebodied Ariel Atom is either an idiot or someone who wants to see an 18 year old pinned under a slowly smoldering rebodied Ariel Atom in a ditch off the 2 freeway.
Tyga got the girl who really should be given a Kia Soul or something a Ferrari instead, and Tyga’s ex, Blac Chyna, called that a “common car — ain’t nothing special about it.”
I can’t believe I just typed that shit.
Anyway, yeah, Rezvanis are now cool, Ferraris are “common” and not “special” and Ferris Rezvani is probably dancing around his house like, well, Kylie Jenner.
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.