It’s been more than a decade since OC had a supercar to call its own. The county is home to its fair share of foreign exotics, notably Ferraris, Lamborghini and McLaren. But, it was the mighty Saleen S7 – a $400,000 American supercar capable of keeping pace with the Enzos and F’s of the world – that was hand-built here, specifically in Irvine. Sadly, a series of corporate restructurings and relocations in the late 2000s robbed the county – and the automotive world – of this gem. Now, from local startup Rezvani, comes a new exotic beauty named the Beast.
Unknown automotive startups making audacious claims of forthcoming supercar excess are nothing new. Usually, the trajectory is: press release, fancy renderings, prototype (maybe) and then … nada. With its promise of million-dollar track-focused performance for a tenth of the cost, Rezvani appeared primed to follow that path. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the dream car dustbin: From a 50,000-square-foot factory in Santa Ana, Rezvani breathed actual life into the Beast, creating a stunning new OC original capable of serious performance.
Perhaps the secret weapon is what lies at the heart of the Beast: the Ariel Atom. This ingeniously engineered land rocket from England is literally a bare-bones speed machine: no roof, no windows, no body panels; essentially, just an exposed lightweight exoskeleton and supercharged engine. The results are blistering acceleration and go-kart-like handling dynamics.
Atop the Atom underpinnings, Rezvani designer Samir Sadikhov – who had a hand in recent Aston Martin and Ferrari concepts – penned the Beast’s carbon fiber bodywork. It hits all the right supercar notes, from the ultra-low front splitter, to the deep side air vents, and aggressive rear diffusers. Rezvani also used innovative 3-D printing technology to create the Beast’s angular headlight and taillight casings. Though the individual styling cues are somewhat derivative, they do come together in a pleasantly cohesive package.
The lightweight Beast is offered in two high-performance variations. The 300 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Honda engine making 315 hp, while the 500 features a hopped up 2.4-liter version of the engine supercharged to offer 500 hp. With zero-to-60 times just under three seconds, both Beasts look to put OC back on the supercar map.
