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Paragon Artega GT

todras

Pretty fly for a white guy *cowbell*
Joined
May 29, 2000
Messages
13,188
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Germany’s alternative to the sports car establishment[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The new car brand Artega® is set to unveil a close-to-production prototype of its debut model. Artega®’s aim is the development and production of small-series sports cars that break the mould. Artega® was the brainchild of engineers in the development department at paragon, the globally successful electronics supplier based in Delbrück, in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. The company’s mission statement commits it to providing a convincing and sustained demonstration of both all-round automotive expertise and a passion for sporty cars.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Artega® and the Artega® GT represent a new beginning, with no brief to bring a historical brand back to life and no nostalgia agenda. The challenging, international setting of the Geneva Motor Show makes this a fitting venue for the first public unveiling of both brand and car.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The new Artega® GT combines the emotional appeal of a high-performance sports car with the defining attributes of a sports tourer. The development of the car hinged on four priorities:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]A distinctive design language. Renowned designer Henrik Fisker has created proportions with an unprecedented purity: broad, flat and compact. Given its restricted dimensions, an interior brimming with efficiency comes as something of a surprise. There is room inside the car not just for two adults, but also their luggage – and even a child seat can be integrated as an option.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Agility, driving dynamics and safety. The key parameters in the development of the Artega® GT were lightweight construction and rigidity. A generously sized aluminium space frame teams up with a body made from carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials to ensure an impressive power-to-weight ratio. High-quality components sourced from the Volkswagen Group and a rear-engined arrangement make for top-class performance. The V6 powerplant with a direct-shift gearbox and a specially developed inverting stage was built into a compact module made from high-strength steel tubing. Active driving dynamics aids are an integral element of the GT, while exceptionally effective crash boxes protect the occupants in the event of an accident.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Touring suitability. The development engineers attached great importance to creating an occupant-oriented package. A wide variety of stowage areas and two luggage compartments exceed the usual boundaries for a car with these dimensions. The key to this extraordinary spaciousness was the decision to mount the engine horizontally in the rear of the car.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Controls. The expertise of the electronics specialists at paragon opened the door to a wide range of innovative control and driver information systems. With its groundbreaking new sensor switch panels and the unique dual-indicator speedometer/rev counter instrument, paragon’s all-new interior ambience represents a significant standout feature of the new Artega® GT. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]By the end of 2007 a state-of-the-art production facility will be constructed in Delbrück for the Artega® GT and other potential models. The new location will bring together component manufacturing, final assembly and a brand and sales centre, allowing the brand to meet the broadest possible range of customer specifications.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The new Artega® GT is no show car. It documents the nascent brand’s intention to lay down a range of models which are designed for the long term and can secure it a place alongside the major manufacturers. The target group for these small-volume cars is a select band of enthusiasts who value ideas which step outside the norm and are therefore unlikely to be satisfied by large-series models.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Artega® aims to enrich the sports car world rather than providing extra competition.[/FONT]

Performance: 300hp V6, 0-60 in under 5 secs.

Hotnesssssssssssssssss!

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As production ramps up on the impossibly gorgeous Artega GT, parent company Paragon has announced that the compact sportscar will sell for €74,983 across the pond. The pricing makes it compelling competition for a well-equipped (and similarly proportioned) Porsche Cayman S. As we previously reported, final assembly is scheduled to begin this summer at a rate of two per day, ramping up to 20 per week for a total production run of just 500 vehicles.


Among those will be a right-hand-drive model for the UK market, as Artega establishes a British dealer base. The vehicle initially unveiled as a concept in Geneva 2007 and in production form a year later is powered by a mid-mounted, Volkswagen-sourced 3.6-liter V6 coupled to a DSG transmission. 300 horsepower driving the rear wheels is all that's needed to propel the Fisker-designed (think BMW Z8 and a handful of Aston Martins along with his own line of coach-built SLs and M6s and the Karma hybrid super-sedan) to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than five seconds.

We're still waiting to see if Artega will go through the pains of homologating the GT for the U.S. market, but a convertible version is said to be in the works.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/0...t-75k
 
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