DiMora Natalia SLS 2: World's Most Expensive Car

Motoring Channel Staff - 14/August/2008

Palm Springs, America — The world's most expensive car could also be the most durable: it's body and frame are made from volcanic rock.

Thanks to its innovative use of volcanic material in the body and frame, the DiMora Natalia SLS 2 Super sedan is shaping up to be a rarity in the car world.

Priced at around $2 million, the new vehicle is claimed to be the world's most expensive, and the American niche car maker will also bring a high level of luxury to the table that will give Rolls-Royce something to think about.

Instead of using carbon fibre or other high-strength, low weight materials, the new DiMora car will use Barotex inorganic fibre. In short, volcanic rock.

The car will built with the help of the Barotex Technology Corporation, to showcase the use of this volcanic material in industrial products.

It's creators claim that this volcanic fibre is superior to carbon fibre, fibreglass, Kevlar, and other high strength materials. 

Alfred DiMora, the founder and CEO of DiMora Motorcar, said "Barotex enables our design team to create some of the strongest and most durable automotive components ever produced.

"For the Natalia SLS 2, Barotex will be formed into various body panels and our revolutionary D-Tek chassis, where its high strength will add significantly to the automobile's torsional rigidity. Yet our chassis will be more than a thousand pounds [454kg] lighter than the conventional steel chassis found on other luxury automobiles of similar size."

The Natalia SLS 2 will be powered by an Earth-shaking 895kW (1200hp) 16-cylinder engine, which has an amusing nickname: "When we began designing our 16-cylinder engine that would erupt with 1200 horsepower, we decided to call it the Volcano V16. It's only natural that we now surround the DiMora Volcano with volcanic rock from Barotex," quipped Alfred DiMora.

Will Barotex become the new 'must-have' material for car construction? Once crash-testing and cost effectiveness studies are completed we'll have a better idea, but it sounds promising.

What Is Barotex

Barotex is a refined material made from volcanic rock. As Lilo Beuzieron, the CEO of Barotex Technology Corporation and inventor of Barotex explains, it has many benefits - though low cost is not likely one of them.

"In contrast, carbon fibre products are petroleum-based, and we know about the challenges that involves," said Lilo Beuzieron. 

"Not only is lava rock more abundant, but our manufacturing process requires far less energy. It is friendly to the environment, and the automobiles built with Barotex are lighter, so they use less energy every mile traveled," added Beuzieron.

Barotex Technology Corp. is also working on various military and aerospace applications for the Barotex inorganic fibre, but says that it can also be used in sporting equipment. 

The high strength-to-weight ratio of Barotex fibre makes it a superior material in many automotive applications, claims the company, explaining that because it is an inorganic material, it will not burn or support combustion, which can improves passenger safety.

The Barotex Technology Corporation is an American company based in California.

"We recently received our patent for the proprietary process used to produce Barotex," explained Beuzieron. "We are delighted that the first production automobile to integrate this technology will be DiMora's Natalia SLS 2, which abounds with technological breakthroughs from bumper to bumper."