Arash AF 10: Exotic Supercar

By Feann Torr - 16/October/2008

Cambridge, England — Meet the Arash AF 10, a lightweight, high power super car that could carve itself a lucrative niche in the super car arena.

The Ferrari Enzo look-a-like is the brainchild of Arash Farboud, who came up with the Farboud GTS back in 2003, and has since moved on to this: the bigger, badder Arash AF 10.

Looking much sharper than previous versions of the car that have appeared at motor shows in the last few years, the Arash AF 10 has a real jet fighter aesthetic and it looks suitably exotic with its pearl white paint job.

It's got swing-wing doors, a mid-mounted V8 engine, LED fog lights, and lots of carbon fibre - very exotic. 

The car maker expects to sell about 25 of the AF 10s per year, with a handful built in left-hand drive for the US market, and is a relative bargain priced at £172,000 (A$450,000).

Arash says the design was influenced by Le Mans and F1 race cars. Looks more like a Ferrari Enzo influence to me, right down to the active front and rear aero aids. Still, that doesn't detract from the fact that it looks smoking hot.

Crafted from carbon fibre, the body shell uses honeycomb and nomex sandwiches ensuring lightness and rigidity and the chassis is a mixture of steel and carbon.

Combined, this creates a very light base, allowing the dirty great big V8 engine to propel the car to astronomical speeds. 

Arash reckons the top speed of the vehicle will be more than 200mph, (more than 320km/h!) fast enough to keep up with the world's quickest automobiles from the likes of Zonda, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.

The attractive super car features a full underfloor aero system to improve downforce and steering stability at extreme speeds, all of which has been wind tunnel tested.

Though it may look like a European thoroughbred, complete with a range of luxurious (for a super car) features such as an MP3 stereo, leather seats, touch-screen satellite navigation and reversing camera, at it's heart beats an American engine.

Unlike the Farboud GTS which was powered by a small-ish 2.8-litre turbo V6 from Audi, Arash chose the Chevrolet Corvette's LS7 engine (similar to the block HSV uses in the W427), which displaces 7.0-litres or 427 cubic inches.

With a few tweaks the engine, the Arash AF 10's engine outputs 405kW (550hp) @ 6000rpm which the niche British car company claims will propel the vehicle from 0-96km/h in 3.4 seconds. 

To put that acceleration time in perspective, the V12-powered Ferrari Enzo can achieve the same speed in 3.14 seconds.

Grazianno Trasmissioni supplied the 6-speed gearbox, similar to the unit used in the Ferrari Enzo (I see a theme here...), and with Arash offering full warranty and roadside assistance, sales should get off to a decent start in Europe.

Measuring just 4.4 metres long with a 2.69 metre wheelbase and about 2.0 metres wide, the Arash AF 10 is fairly compact for a super car and this bodes will for its agility. 

Riding on 19-inch alloy wheels (21-inchers are optional) and equipped with double wishbone suspension all round, the AF 10 ticks all the right boxes for an exotic car, andwill be fitted with 6-piston pot AP racing calipers and carbon ceramic discs.

With a fairly sweet price-point, a smoking hot design and plenty of muscle, the new Arash AF 10 looks to be a real contender, but if you think that 400kW+ isn't enough, don't fret because the Cambridge-based car maker is planning asupercharged version of the car, the AF 10-S.

It is expected to lob later in 2009 and will pump out around 625kW (850hp), which would bring it very close to the 3.0 second barrier and should see it posting some incredible lap times.

Related Links:
- Farboud GTS (2003)
- Fabrio GTS (2007)
- Arash Cars (Official Website)