Irvine, CA,-based supercar builder Rezvani unveiled its latest model, the Beast Alpha, at this year's Los Angeles auto show. The car is a $200,000, 500-horsepower, hardtop cousin of the Beast two-seat roadster. The Beast Alpha is actually a little slower to 60 mph than the roadster, taking 3.2 seconds with the sequential automatic compared to the 2.7 seconds in the normal Beast. The reason for this is probably the extra 300 pounds the coupe carries. But the Beast Alpha gets a few nice livability features in return.
(Rezvani)
It should also be mentioned that the Beast Alpha, despite the extra weight, is not a heavy car. It weighs just 1,950 pounds. And as for those livability upgrades, the most obvious one is the covered roof, which also happens to be removable, so you can still get some air through the cockpit. It's likely the hardtop improves aerodynamics as well, since the Beast Alpha has a top speed of 175 mph, as opposed to the roadster's 165 mph top speed. The second new feature is obvious only when someone gets in or out. Rezvani equipped the car with doors that may have found the final frontier of door opening mechanics. They're called "SideWinder" doors, and they pop out and slide forward. Like on a Koenigsegg, you'll want to stay away from other cars and high curbs when parking.
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The other differences between the Beast and the Beast Alpha are under the skin. The Alpha uses an aluminum chassis based on a Lotus, rather than the normal Beast's Ariel Atom underpinnings. The engine differs a bit as well. Both use a 2.4-liter K24 four-cylinder engine from Acura as a base, however the Beast gets a Rotrex supercharger, and the Alpha gets a turbocharger. Rezvani also does a significant amount of engine work, including porting the head, adding new cams, and installing stronger pistons and rods.
The inside is pretty barebones, but it does come with some concessions to modernity. The interior is covered in leather and Alcantara. The instrument cluster is an LCD screen similar to what you would find in a race car, and in the dash is a stereo with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Air conditioning and airbags are also standard features, along with a drive mode selector for choosing how much power and stability control intervention the car uses. Rezvani also includes an economy mode for when driving hard and fast isn't on the agenda.
Now if this seems too tame for you, the Beast roadster is still available. And if you're really feeling crazy, Rezvani offers a twin-turbocharged version of the open-top car called the Beast X. That car has 700 horsepower and is good for a claimed 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds. None of them have those awesome doors though.