“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp” seems an appropriate quote to begin the story of yet another ambitious supercar manufacturer, this time from the desert kingdom of Qatar. The ‘Elibriea’ supercar is the vision of 27 year old designer, Abdul Wahab Ziaullah, the founder and owner of Elibriea Automotive. The goal is to create Qatar’s first indigenously produced supercar. The slogan “Made in Qatar” proudly adorns the flanks of the concept car.
In a region that is replete with exotic cars, Ziaullah’s choice to follow the dream he had during his studies at Texas A&M University in Qatar and build his own supercar, is truly remarkable. Thanks to funding from Qatar’s National Research Fund and from Ali Bin Ali Group. Ziaullah’s vision has physically manifested itself in the form of the “Elibriea” concept supercar which debuted at the Qatar Motor Show on January 28 2016 to mixed reactions.
This is not the first Arabian supercar however, the “Lykan Hypersport” produced by W Motors, a United Arab Emirate company can make that claim, although only 7 “Lykans” are being built for $3.4 million US apiece. The Lykans most notable feature is the headlights embedded with jewels, with titanium blades made up of 420 diamonds. The “Elibriea” by contrast is devoid of this sort of ostentation, making do with the de rigueur elements of twenty first century supercars namely, a body and monocoque made from carbon fiber. The “Elibriea” is a two door coup with “distinct Elibriea doors” or scissor doors to you and me. The “Elibriea” concept car makes do with a GMC sourced V6, which is quoted as producing 525bhp, whereas the production car which will be called the Equvallas boasts 800 horsepower driven through the rear wheels. The size of the engine that will power the production car is unknown, but is presumed to be a naturally aspirated V8. The drivetrain will be a 6 speed sequential transmission.
The Elibriea has unfortunately come in for some criticism of its design. I see the “Elibriea” as a fusion of the 1980’s Trans Am from the television series Knight Rider, and design elements from the different Transformer movies. The design does not emote a passionate desire for the vehicle in the way a Ferrari or Lamborghini does. Although much has been said of the concept car and its resemblance to a Lockheed-F117 Night Hawk stealth fighter aircraft. The video of the “Elibriea” on the company website does remind me of the unique angular framework on the F-117 stealth fighter. The video does not show a particularly agile car or indeed one that looks particularly fast. Disappointingly the interior of the car remains a mystery for the time being. The”Elibriea” claims to only weigh 2,200 pounds thanks to its carbon fiber construction. No performance figures have been released, yet the company is taking pre-orders in March 2016 with deliveries set to start in December of 2016. A bold claim for a company that has never built a car before, or disclosed the location of their factory.
Sadly the list of supercar startups that failed to produce a single car or make any profit is rather long; DeLoren, Vector, Gumpert, Marussia but to name a few. Two exceptions that give hope to “Elibriea” are Pagani in Italy and Koenigsegg of Sweden who have stayed the course and produced some of the most memorable supercars in history. The Pagani Zonda in its many iterations, and the mighty CCX, Agera, and Regera Koenigseggs. These supercars sell in excess of 2 million dollars and are sold in limited amounts. Time will tell if “Elibriea” will join the ranks of these illustrious companies. In the mean time we wish Ziaullah all the best and we look forward to seeing the production “Equvallas” on the road in December 2016.
