Equity Mag Feb_18 Book Folder

COLLECTOR'S PIECES
220 diamonds encrusted on the headlamps. By 2013, W
Motors also made the strategic decision to move its
headquarters from Beirut to Dubai. To weave a compelling
story around the brand, W Motors adopted some neat
millennial marketing ploys. Debbas knew only too well the
visual and cultural impact of breaking into Hollywood (we all
know what Steve McQueen’s 1968 thriller Bullitt did for the
Mustang). In the high-octane Furious 7, part of the megapopular
Fast and Furious franchise, the Lykan got a lead role
and could be seen jumping between skyscrapers. That was
enough to pit the W Motors as a global cultural icon.
Reportedly, ten prototypes were built for the movie, nine of
which were wrecked by the time the director James Wan
was done shooting.
To sustain the marque’s momentum, W Motors required
another car which wasn’t as niche as the Lykan and could carry
forward the narrative it had begun. It teamed up with a few
industry veterans like Magna Steyr from Austria and RUF
Automobile GmbH from Germany. In 2013, they debuted the
concept Fenyr Supersport.
Fast-forward to December 2017, and the breathing sheet
of metal Fenyr SuperSport with rear-opening suicide-style
doors was now ready in its production guise. It features a
3.8-litre flat six-cylinder engine developed along with RUF
that pumps out 800hp of power and 980Nm of torque at
4,000rpm. For a car this powerful, it would be a disservice to
note its 0-100kph speed. Instead, we’ll do one better and let
you know that it can go from 0-200kph in 9.4 seconds. There
are a standard composite-body model and a pricier allcarbon
fibre body. In the latter configuration, you’re looking
at a total weight of just 1,350kgs.
For a car this light and powerful, it takes some nifty engineering
to create enough downforce to allow it to grip the tarmac and
hold a straight line. That innovation came by way of an in-house
developed Triptych Active Spoiler which is deployed at 75mph
and uses an electromechanical system to trigger the spoiler built
across three independent surfaces. The Fenyr SuperSport has a
top speed of 395kph, which makes it a lethal weapon when
shown an open stretch of highway. There are special forged
aluminium wheels designed specifically for W Motors that have
been fitted onto this car. The ceramic discs will do a good job of
shaving off speed just as quickly as the engine generates it.
The interiors are lined with carbon fibre and Alacantra. This
isn’t a supercar that’s stripped away creature comfort to achieve
target weight. In the Fenyr SuperSport you get temperature
control, sat nav, an infotainment system with a separate display
in front of the passenger side, a sound system (though we’re
guessing you’d want to keep the windows down and let in the
soundtrack from the engine itself) and parking sensors with
reverse cameras, among other bits and pieces. The car can be
configured as a left-hand as well as a right-hand drive, good
news if you live in Australia or the United Kingdom.
W Motors also opened their first-ever showroom in the tony
Dubai district of Citywalk in December. The showroom will
rotate artwork from the Swiss Galerie Frank Page and W
Motors also open up a café on the pavement just outside. Given
that Debbas is friends with former head chef at elBulli, Ferran
Adrià – who also attended the launch of the of the showroom
– expect there to be some fine-dining bites on offer.
The medium- to long-term plans for W Motors is to shift
the car’s manufacturing and production facilities from Europe
to the UAE. That will only enhance the brand’s positioning as
the first homegrown supercar manufactured in Arabia.
With a small team hand building this machine, the company
is expected to deliver only 25 units a year. It’ll set you back
$1.4 million for the standard composite body model and
$1.8 million for the full carbon-fibre body. The Lykan
HyperSport was W Motor’s opening salvo. With the Fenyr
SuperSport, it’s going in for the kill.
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EQUITY