Arash AF10 - Geneva 2016

Genuine contender or wild fantasist? PH meets the man and the machine

By Dan Trent / Sunday, 6 March 2016 / Loading comments

Reading the comments for the pre-Geneva story on the 2,109hp

petrol-electric AF10

- and, indeed previous stories - it'd seem there's a healthy amount of scepticism directed towards

Arash Farboud

and his ceaseless quest to build his own supercar brand. Indeed, 'that' Sniff Petrol

'New British supercar'

tick box press release might seemingly have been written with operations like his in mind. Quite possibly was in fact.

Lots of tech, but the kerbweight is said to be 1,500kg

Let's give him the benefit of the doubt though. If you're willing to put it on the line and show your supposed fantasy supercar at the Geneva show within shouting distance of Koenigsegg, Pagani, Lamborghini and others, you're probably worth chatting to.

First things first, the show lights don't flatter the finish of the AF10 in the way they do some of the competitors listed above. The adjacent AF8 Cassini is a more complete car - Farboud beams as he reports his first sale, saying it's a major milestone for the brand - but the AF10's wild power claims seem ready to drop into that Sniff Petrol template. And continue to flow from Arash himself - "200mph on electric power alone" for instance - as he talks around the car. Other stats are numbers prefixed 'less than' when talking about acceleration and 'more than' relating to speed. The gleeful language of the press material was apparently simply taken verbatim from Arash as he described the car to the team preparing the promo material.

Yes, there is a car there. It's the AF8 Cassini

The manual Graziano gearbox copes with the first 900hp of the self-titled 'Warp Drive unit', developed by the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine. So far, so normal. But from there Farboud's goal of building a car that feels like a roadgoing LMP1 racer extends to using electric motors from the same - four of them, at a cost of 100,000 euros each and able to deliver 299hp and 199lb ft apiece. Built by Compact Dynamics and sold as a complete unit with integral two-speed gearbox and inverter they're trick pieces of kit and race proven by, as he has it, a German manufacturer that has won Le Mans. Using one per wheel, mounted inboard, means four-wheel drive with no need for weighty propshafts or centre and rear differentials - all torque distribution can be done electronically. Overall the car is said to weigh around 1,500kg, which is competitive with equivalent petrol-electric hypercars that have already made it to market.

And this is about the point where the already cocked eyebrow reaches an angle of inclination even Quentin Wilson would struggle to match. Because anyone can acquire the hardware, be it from a Corvette or winning LMP1 car. Putting it all into a chassis isn't that hard either relatively speaking. But when you consider the testing and engineering resource - financial and intellectual - invested by Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari in cars like the 918 Spyder, P1 and LaFerrari you can't help but wonder how on earth a company like Arash can hope to calibrate it all and make it work. Because that, above everything else, is where the real magic occurs in the modern-day hypercar. Not under the lights of a motor show, even one with more millionaires per square metre than most.

Best of British to 'em though.