Poland’s first indigenous supercar Arrinera

[UPDATE] We have had already heard of the Arrinera supercar from Poland for a long and, indeed, have an exclusive review of it in the past. However, recent reports doing rounds in Polish media accuse that the supercar is nothing more than a poorly build up replica and has elements borrowed exclusively and freely from original vehicles. The allegations came after an investigation conducted by Jacek Balkan, a Polish news reporter who hosts the radio program TokFM and Motodziennik, an online Polish TV program.

However, the coin has the other side too and we cannot and should not believe the whole thing until we have the argument from the defense. Here comes Lukasz Tomkiewicz, the CEO of the Arrinera supercar who vociferously defies the accusations and calls the report from Jacek Balkan as nothing but a concocted story.

We'll keep you posted on the same.

Ok, we won’t hide the fact that we’re bitterly disappointed with the reports doing the rounds in the media in Poland that the country’s first indigenous supercar, the eagerly awaited Arrinera, may not be an all-original supercar as the prototype we reviewed a while ago sounded like. An investigation conducted by Jacek Balkan, a Polish news reporter who hosts the radio program TokFM and Motodziennik, an online Polish TV program, reveals that the supercar may be nothing more than a “compilation” of elements liberally “borrowed” from other original vehicles.

Balkan has accused the makers of the Arrinera of lifting the design of the supercar from the Lamborghini El Toro tuned by Bojar Tuning, a polish auto tuner. Not only does a comparative photo of the two suggest strong resemblance on the outside, the interiors of the two are also strongly matched which supports Balkan’s accusation that the vehicle may be just a “poor replica” instead of the supercar that it was being touted around as. Apart from the similarities between the tuned Lamborghini, the Arrinera is also being accused of having lifted its entire electrical system, the center console and the instrument cluster from the Audi A6 (C5) while the glove compartment, dash panel, air vents and a few other interior components bear similarities to the ones found on an Opel Corsa.

Balkan has also alleged that Veno SA, the company who claimed to be producer of the vehicle, bought the El Toro replica from Bojar Tuning, relabeled it and hyped it as Poland’s first indigenously made supercar to push the price tag on the vehicle higher and build a customer base for the vehicle before it hit market.

The allegations come hot on the heels of Veno SA listing a new company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange-run stock market NewConnect. Veno SA, on the other hand, has already announced that the vehicle is set to be priced at around €116,740 ($160,060/£100,000) and will hit production sometime later this year. Whether or not these allegations are true, is yet to be seen. Watch this space for more on this shocking news coming out of Poland.

UPDATE 2

Here are the official details....

1. The presented prototype of the Arrinera supercar was built independently and entirely by Arrinera Automotive S.A.

2. The supercar production version will have revamped design, definitely more organical, masculine, aerodynamic and streamlined. We plan to present new design in June/July 2012.

3. The rolling chassis of the final version that will be offered to customers is being prepared by a renowned British constructor - Mr Lee Noble - on the basis of the agreement concluded in May 2011 with Arrinera Automotive S.A.

4. Jacek Balkan sends to Polish and foreign media false information therefore he will be sued. There is also a group lawsuit being prepared by the shareholders for acting against the law .

5. Arrinera supercar will be manufactured by a company that employs several hundred employees and meets highest standards of cars production as well as possesses all the proper certificates.

6. Arrinera Automotive is the only manufacturer of the supercar – not VENO S.A.. Arrinera Automotive S.A. did not make its debut on Warsaw Stock Exchange. VENO S.A. possesses shares of Arrinera Automotive S.A. but does not take part in any works on the Polish -British supercar.

7. We will be happy to answer to all you questions regarding the Arrinera

supercar.

8. The presentation of the Arrinera supercar took place on 9 June 2011. It was not an official presentation but a presentation for investors and shareholders.

In reference to the press release published by Jacek Balkan which undermines the good name of Arrinera Automotive S.A. and contains a great number of false information, the Management Board of Arrinera Automotive S.A. informs as follows:

1. The prototype of the Arrinera supercar was built independently and entirely by Arrinera Automotive S.A. .

2. The body of the Arrinera supercar prototype was designed by one of the Arrinera Automotive S.A. employees – Mr. Pavlo Burkatskyy.

3. Arrinera Automotive carried out road tests of the Arrinera supercar in May 2011 i.e. prior to its official presentation in June.

4. Except for air vents, there are no other elements of the dashboard in the Arrinera prototype that come from Opel Corsa. Arrinera Automotive S.A. stresses that air vents from Opel Corsa were used in various vehicles e.g: Noble M600 costing 225.000 GBP. Another example is Zenvo ST1 supercar that in its production version possesses serial instrument cluster from Porsche although the vehicle price is around 770.000 GBP GBP. Part of supercar manufacturers operates in a similar way i.e. they use popular elements ( e.g. switches in the cabin) from other cars. Production version of the Zenvo ST1 mentioned above has got the Corvette C6 air-condition panel and air vents from Seat Ibiza, which costs 1/100 of the value of this supercar.

http://www.hdcarwallpapers.com/walls/zenvo_devon_st1_interior-wide.jpg

Arrinera Automotive declares that part of the dashboard (i.e. central part, middle part, area under the steering wheel, fuse access panel) installed in the Arrinera supercar prototype, were patented and will be used in the Arrinera supercar production version. The cockpit has been designed, made and patented by Arrinera Automotive S.A.

5. The Arrinera supercar prototype is not a replica of any other car or supercar. At the same time, it’s important to point out that Arrinera Automotive S.A. informed a number of times that the Arrinera supercar production version will have a revamped body design. The designer of the Arrinera prototype’s body as well as the Arrinera production version’s body, is Mr. Pavlo Burkatskyy – the person employed by Arrinera Automotive S.A.

6. In the Arrinera production version there will be used LS9 engine ( 8-cylinder engine of 6,2 l. capacity, maximum power of 647 HP and torque of 819 Nm). It is the only engine, that Arrinera Automotive plans to install in the Arrinera supercar.

7. To acquire the possibility of offering to customers the Arrinera supercar with the designation “Chassis by Lee Noble”, for the needs of the Arrinera supercar production version the chassis will be made over again by Lee Noble, according to the agreement signed, with keeping the parameters of the prototype’s chassis such as: axle and wheel base and positioning of the passenger cabin as well as the engine bay. After supplying the rolling chassis to Arrinera Automotive S.A., Arrinera Automotive S.A. team will then install the body as well as the interior of the Arrinera supercar production version.

8. Arrinera Automotive S.A. declares that having a chassis made of tubes and a fiberglass body, does not qualify a particular car to be called a replica. Some manufacturers of sports cars and supercars use such bodies. In addition, cars with bodies made ​​entirely of carbon fiber cost significantly more than 100 thousand GBP (estimated basic price of the Arrinera supercar ). Prices of such cars usually start at 170-200 000 GBP. At the same time, cars with visible carbon fiber structure, as in case of several elements of the Arrinera supercar prototype, usually cost around1 million GBP. There is no technical and economic justification for the use of carbon fiber for all the parts in the prototype’s body.

9. The air-conditioning panel from the Audi S6 C5 was used in the Arrinera supercar prototype .The production version is planned to have a different panel. It should be stressed that companies such as Audi and GM do not produce their own air-conditioning panels. These elements are usually manufactured for them by companies such as Delphi, Denso and Valeo. Situation looks the same in case of many other components used in vehicles available on the market. It is important to notice that the same climate control panel was used in the Rover 45 until recently, the Lamborghini Diablo and the Pagani Zonda.

10. The instrument cluster from Audi was used in the Arrinera’s prototype only. There are ongoing works being carried out on implementation of an OLED type panel of displaying data for the final production version.

11. Many well-known companies design, manufacture and sell cars and supercars using complete components manufactured by other companies. This has an economic justification. In case of a small volume production, it is difficult to cover the costs of R&D activities necessary to manufacture own components. At the same time, it’s hard to say that such companies manufacture replicas.

12. Arrinera Automotive S.A. informs that a significant part of the components that will be used in the Arrinera supercar production version, will be the company’s own solutions, prepared by a team of employees and associates.

13. Arrinera Automotive explains that the vital thing when it comes to designing and building supercars is to have the experience and competencies necessary for the proper and innovative configuration particular components of the supercar. In this case, it is essential to have a suitably experienced team of employees and associates.

14. Arrinera Automotive team consists of specialists in mechanical, electrical and body building work including carbon fiber. For the past three years there have been more than 30 people, in Poland and abroad, working on the project.