In hindsight it was obvious and it had to be done.
An Arab supercar makes sense in so many ways. Not just a car that can compete with the best from Italy or Germany, rather, one that’s so far over the top that the mainstream players won’t even attempt to have a crack at it.
The Middle East is the home of supercar ownership because more people here cannot only afford to buy one - but unlike in Europe or California - owners here are happy to drive them just about everywhere.
Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and McLarens are a more common sight on regional roads than they are in their countries of origin and yet the spiritual home of the supercar doesn’t have its own, homegrown example. Yet.
Enter Lebanese-born Ralph Debbas. Mad about cars, he also has a flair for design and conceptualising, well, concept cars.
Debbas is the chairman and CEO of W Motors and he is the one with the vision behind the 3.4 million USD supercar, the Lykan Hypersport, that his company revealed at the Qatar Motor Show earlier this year.
Sporting that kind of price tag, W Motors has plans to produce just seven of these super-exclusive supercars. Six months ago, when I first sat with Debbas in his plush office overlooking the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai, even that might have seemed fanciful. But a lot can happen in six months.
Since we last chatted, the fast working team at W Motors have not only built a prototype (the one unveiled in Doha) but they’ve sent it around the world, taken deposits for four of the seven units, started production and are well on the way to launching a second model.
“It was natural that many people who have come to see the car were a bit sceptical but we’ve gotten used to that,” Debbas explained, as we broached the topic of the Lykan’s initial reception. “Then you see the way people shift because at first they read about it and think that it’s another wild Arab project. Then they come to see it, they walk in unconvinced and as soon as you start to explain the details, let them see, touch and feel it, they understand. At this point, they are completely behind it.”
So far W Motors has had strong expressions of interest for the 750bhp six-cylinder car from prospective buyers in Belgium, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar, Brazil, Germany and Saudi Arabia – that’s two more interested parties than eventual cars. Everyone who was serious about their interest was given a contract, which just needed their signature to make one of the seven theirs. Aware the offer is finite, four clever souls have already handed over the money. It’s safe to say that the remaining three will soon be sold too, which gives W Motors the funding they need to take the next big leap.
“At this year’s Dubai Motor Show, we will reveal two completed Lykan Hypersports and will offer a teaser of our next car, the Supersport which will sell for around 1.4 to 1.5 million USD,” Debbas continues, while I muse that this is probably the first time in my life that a 1.5 million USD price tag has sounded like a bargain.
Presently the company is deciding between Abu Dhabi and Dubai but will more than likely choose Dubai and transfer staff working on the Lykan in Europe to the UAE. “The facility will become a research and design centre. We plan to open a school of design to encourage more people from the region to enter the supercar business. The idea is that we’ll add to the facility each year so it turns into one big hub of design, engineering and production,” he adds. “We’re building a retail showroom in Downtown Dubai which will include the first W Café and a luxury gallery in a prime location opposite the Burj Khalifa which will be open before the end of this year.”
The plan, which is privately funded, will create around 100 jobs when the Supersport is in full production – a rate of 10 cars per year. This new model will feature bits of the Hypersport but in a lighter, more aggressive, race-focused shape.
“We’re looking at using the same engine but plan to add four electric motors and a KERS system, so Supersport will be a hybrid similar to the LaFerrari or McLaren P1 but developing somewhere around 1,000 to 1,200bhp,” Debbas says, his inner engineer showing. “It’s very doable so now we’re looking at battery technology and placement within the design that’s already been signed off. If it all comes together we’ll proceed pretty quickly.”
On paper, he says the Supersport should crack 2.2 seconds from zero to 100kmh, which is well within Formula One territory and is faster than the 2.8 seconds the Hypersport claims to take. Consequently, the next stage will be motor-racing, which for Debbas means the hallowed grounds of LeMans and its famed 24-hour endurance race.
“Most of our Hypersport clients already have a Pagani and/or a Koenigsegg as well as a Bugatti Veyron but they still want something that’s totally different so we thought, why not, let’s do a Supersport as well because they can drive that more than the Lykan, which is more of a collector’s piece,” Debbas says, returning briefly to the car that’s made his company’s name. “The plan is to develop W Racing and turn the Supersport into a GT racer. We have some great support and we believe this is a natural progression for our company.”
