As you may well have known, I am an avid fan of Jeremy Clarkson and his doodads. And I agree with him that you needn’t much power to have fun in a car. That is why all I want to have is a 197-bhp Alfa Romeo Giulia. It’s the cheapest petrol variant of the storied Italian marque but it is very far from boring.
The idea of having a car with more than 400 horsepower is beyond me. Because, again, as Mr. Clarkson puts it, the BMW 530d is demonstrably better than anything in its competition...including the M5. The Jaguar XE S is better in every way – except straight line speed – than a Mercedes-AMG C63. In a recent testing, Motor Trend has found that a Mazda MX-5 (160 hp) and a Toyota 86 (205 hp) turned faster times around a track than a 707-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. And there are two articles that will prove my point which you can read here and here.
But the Koenigsegg Agera works. And it has a million horsepower. Which is why it also costs three islands and six coconuts. And then we have the car you see on this page. The Alieno Arcanum. The brand is as alien to me as its powertrain. It has, if you will, six electric motors. For each wheel.
Yes, that is a mind numbing and obscene number of electric motors. And as a result, you can have your Arcanum in three flavors. At its most basic trim, it only produces 2,610 horsepower. Then if that is not fast enough for you, you can also have the 4,351 or the 5,221 bhp versions. The latter can theoretically hit a terminal velocity of 303 mph which would make it the fastest road car to ever be produced. A Bugatti Chiron can only do 265 mph.
Like most new cars these days, the Alieno Arcanum also has modes to adjust the car’s mood. Namely STR (Street), TRC (Track), and RCE (Race). Of course, it should not come as a surprise as Alieno claims the Race trim can compete in the LMP1 class of Le Mans – if and when full-on electric cars become legal. It is styled like an LMP1, anyways. The range is an astronomical 634 miles on a single charge.
If you want one, you can already reserve a unit as Alieno is already taking orders, The base car has a price of about $878,000 while the 5,221 hp beast will be yours for $1.75 million. That is a quite a bargain for the amount of power you get, considering the Aston Martin Vulcan costs $1.8 million and you cannot use it on public roads.
Hmmmm…. If only I can manage to install electricity in my cave.
