Fresh short from Germany, China and the Digital land.
Spofec Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost. If you are looking for a nice company car and you happen to be the manager of a multi-national, you might very well qualify for a Rolls Royce. Just check with your accountant, though, as he is the only one who can perform a stress test on your conscience. If you get the green light without any additional comments, that could well mean you are allowed bring your RR straight to Spofec. And those guys go just a step further than what the factory regulations impose. So they throw in an extra whopping 100bhp, increasing the power output to 706bhp. With an accompanying torque of 1002 Nm, this Spofec Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost covers the 0 – 100 km/h in a mere 4.3 seconds. The electronic top speed of 250 km/h is retained to protect the tyres. The Spofec designers also took on the looks of the Black Badge Ghost and endowed it with a tailor-made carbon body styling kit to give it an even more extravagant appearance. Also indispensable in this regard are the Spofec 22-inch king-sized wheels.
Wiesmann Project Thunderball. It was announced, but we were somewhat sceptical. Because it wouldn’t be the first time that a brand revived itself like a whirlwind, but then became wind still. In a previous life, we were guests of Wiesmann when it built cars you could only get ahead with if you poured petrol in them. The delicious BMW M-engines not only went like a rocket, in the Wiesmann they sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger was gargling with a box of nails. Today, those delicious-sounding six-, eight-, and ten-cylinder BMW engines are no longer around, but are shamelessly replaced by two electric motors found near the rear axle. Constructed from carbon fiber, this Wiesmann ‘Project Thunderball’ weighs around 1,700 kg, which is pretty low for a convertible. Performance is accordingly, as the two electric motors are good for 671 hp and 1100 Nm of torque. In just under 3 seconds, the counter hits 100 km/h, which is pretty insane for a convertible. For barely 3,000 euros off the purchase price, you can have your Wiesmann set aside from now on. But unfortunately, that’s only 1% of the purchase price! Now let’s wait and see which electric sports car in convertible version will be the first to take the plunge. Will it be this Wiesmann ‘Project Thunderball’, will it be the Polestar 6 or will Elon let his rocket fly back in reverse to take the lead after all?
GAC Aion Hyper SSR. The march of Chinese cars can no longer be stopped. And considering the cars meet strict European safety standards, we see no harm in it either. It’s good for us the consumer, and it keeps European manufacturers on their toes. Today, the battle is mainly about range, but also the demand for comfort and ease of use is rising. Whether this Aion Hyper SSR EV will lose any sleep over that remains to be seen, since there is no mention of its range. What we do know is that the Aion Hyper SSR is powered by a pair of electric motors combining 1225 hp, coupled with 12,000 Nm of torque! That should be enough to flash the whole carbon fibre body from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.9 seconds. In October 2023, things should start to happen.
Avanté Design Subaru BRZ Sti. If carmakers are allowed to tempt us with concepts, then the Aftermarket may also have its render artists. Slightly less known, but this totally unjustified, is Avanté Design. This digital creator has his eye set on the Subaru BRZ Sti. And that this fine piece of Japanese car design is going to look even better with a wide body kit, that’ s what Avanté Design is trying to convince you of. And with these renders, he should most certainly succeed. Now let’s hope that one day, this will become reality.