Rezvani Beast

Last we heard of Rezvani Motors and its Beast, we were still recovering from our St. Patrick's Day festivities (note: green beer in every iteration means pain). Back then, it was a mere photo that introduced us to this new, California-based company, although the promises of that photo - sharp bodywork and what looks like a pushrod front suspension - were enough to get us a bit excited about the latest exotic startup.

Now, we have a whole lot more details on this car, and despite concerns that this is merely another piece of vaporware, the Beast seems quite nicely grounded in reality.

The body is pretty darn attractive, with a wide, low look. The thin slivers for the headlights and taillights catch your eye first, while the rear three-quarter view is set off by the racy hump where the engine sits. All in all, it's a pretty eye-pleasing piece of design. That's especially impressive considering the car that's used as a base – the Ariel Atom.

The Beast is based very heavily on the English track weapon, to the point that Atom owners could send their cars to Rezvani's Orange County, CA facility for an upgrade. So straight away, we know that there are some solid bones beneath that sleek bodywork. But has that bodywork dampened the Atom's sense of excitement? On paper, it doesn't look like it. Using carbon-fiber panels for the body, Rezvani is claiming a 1,550-pound curb weight for the heaviest example.

So, it's got a focus on weight. What about power? The Beast's Atom roots show through again, as a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and a 2.4-liter, supercharged V8 will be available. The 2.0T is called the Beast 300, and will happily zoom to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. Opt for the Atom V8-based Beast 500, and you'll hit 60 in just 2.7 seconds. Like the Atom, power is channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission to a set of sticky Toyo tires.

This all sounds very, very promising. While it might look like we're setting up for one, there's no "but" here. The Beast seems reasonably priced, starting at $119,000 for the Beast 300 and $139,000 for the Beast 500. If you already own an Atom 2.0T or V8, slash those numbers to $49K and $69K, respectively.

Take a look at a brief gallery of images and the press release and then head into Comments and tell us: if you were the type of person that could afford an Atom (rich), would you ship it off to Rezvani? Would you bypass Ariel ownership all together and pay the $119,000 to $140,000 to pick up a Beast of your own?