It looks beastly in a good way, of course. The way that you’d want a 1650 lb, ~500HP Ariel Atom-based bonkerscar to look. And sound, and go. Sure, we were skeptical at first, but it looks like Rezvani made good on his promise to make a pretty dramatic car.
Longtime and/or idiot savant readers may recall that almost a year ago I went and visited the Rezvani workshops where the Beast was being built, after we’d gone through a few rounds of skepticism and some nasty back-and-forths between Rezvani and a disgruntled ex-designer.
The designer and Rezvani made up (kiss not verified), and Ferris Rezvani himself seems to have poured a bunch of resources into his pet project, and the result does look pretty fantastic. Look, here’s a video of the car, where they do some donuts in a warehouse, took it out to Horse Thief Mile at Willow Springs, and have it narrated by a guy who’s either doing a Christopher Nolan-as-Batman impression or had just finished gargling a stein of gravel and live scorpions. Here it is:
So, ridiculous VO affectations aside, that thing looks pretty good. It’s got a lean, cybernetic feline look about it, and it’s based on some good fundamental thinking: keep it simple, mechanical, and raw.
The Atom chassis and basic drivetrain they’re using certainly helps achieve that. It’s using the four-banger 2.4L from the Atom 3 and 3S but turbocharged and supercharged, which Rezvani claims gives it 500 HP. That’s a good jump from the mid-300s that the Atom makes, and I have no idea if those numbers have been confirmed anywhere, but it’s fun to believe it, so why not.
This car — which weighs a good 600 lbs or so less than a new Miata — is said to get from parked to 60 MPH in 2.7 seconds, which, in a car with no windshield, seems like a great way to force-feed yourself clouds of insects.
It’s got either a six-speed manual (the correct choice) or an optional sequential auto ‘box. It’s RWD, has carbon-fiber bodywork, and, interestingly for such a low-volume car, can be had with ApplePlay right from the workshop/factory. Also, the press release for the beast offers one of the best statements about optional equipment of any car today:
Windshield is optional.
The Beast starts at $165,000, which, for this segment and type of car, isn’t really all that bad. A car with an optional windshield isn’t likely to be your solitary daily driver, though I’d love to test that out anyway.
I’ve already emailed Ferris Rezvani to see if I can come out and drive this thing. I’ll keep you updated, of course.
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.