The world of high-dollar supercars is a rapidly changing collection of small independent shops anchored by the Italian, British and American stalwarts. While almost everyone is familiar with the names
Ferrari,
Lamborghini and
Aston Martin, and while American companies such as
Saleen beginning to achieve more recognition, there are still many upstarts who do their best to make their mark in the realm of top dollar high performance vehicles. Some of these nameplates are revived from the past and backed by large parent companies as in the case of
Bugatti and the recently released Veyron, but others are labors of love that represent years of blood, sweat and tears on the part of the owners and designers. Cars like the
Koenigsegg, built in Sweden with assistance from the national government, represent something of a mix between the two. One thing that does link each small supercar builder is a long process from original project conception to actually building a working version of the vehicle – a time period that can be over a decade in length and result in the car drawing from styling and design cues that harken more to the outdated past than the cutting edge.
The 2002
Laraki Fulgura Concept is unfortunately a vehicle which belongs in this category.
Laraki is a company owned by Abdeslam
Laraki, and it operates out of Casablanca, Morocco. While they are the first supercar company to have originated from this country, the firm is not only involved in the automotive world, and has found great success both in architecture and in the building of mega-yachts for the ultra rich. When it came time to put their talents to work on a high performance vehicle,
Laraki did what many supercar companies do: they cut some corners by ‘borrowing’ an already developed chassis from an established automaker. The Fulgura is based on the chassis of the
Lamborghini Diablo, and even if you didn’t know that information before you encountered this concept vehicle, you would immediately notice the strong dimensional resemblance between the two cars. In fact, it is not only the proportions of the sleek nose and radically chopped vertical trunk lines that suggest Italian heritage, but also the front grille openings and roofline. The rest of the car is a pastiche of different automotive designs, with the headlights resembling a
McLaren F1 and the rear exhaust suggesting an MC12 fitted with a
Ferrari valence.
The Fulgura concept also borrows its mechanicals from the big boys, and the car is fitted with a 6.2 liter Mercedes V12 engine. Brabus was brought in to tweak more power out of the motor, and with twin-turbos the setup produces an astonishing 720 horsepower, along with 440 lb-feet of torque. The top speed of the
Laraki Fulgara is estimated to be 205 miles per hour, and the acceleration is conservatively declared to be 3.8 seconds. The concept does not employ the all-wheel drive system used by
Lamborghini, and instead shunts the power to the rear wheels through a 6-speed sequential transmission. The Fulgara bears 19 inch wheels and a leather-appointed interior which does not overwhelm the driver with luxury. Interestingly, this supercar is quite light, weighing well less than 3000 lbs.
The plan from
Laraki was to build 99 examples of the Fulgura over a period of 4 years. This can be seen as yet another example of the pitfalls facing boutique supercar manufacturers. Given that the Fulgura, (which means ‘Lightning’ in Greek), already exhibits outdated styling cues, it is questionable whether in 4 years there will be enough of an interest amongst those with the disposable income required to purchase the Fulgura to justify its continued production.
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June 4, 2008, 7:02 am
