Geneva '08 Preview: Artega GT ready for delivery

When we first saw the Artega GT at last year's Geneva auto show, we fell in love. The Fisker-designed sportscar looks like a synergetic cross between a Porsche Boxster and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but photogenic as it, it looks absolutely curvalicious in person. It took us a few minutes of drooling to realize that it was just a mock-up, and a mechanically functional prototype was shown months later in Frankfurt. (We fell in love with it all over again there.)

Led by former Rolls Royce chief Klaus Dieter Frers, Artega is just about ready to begin delivery of the first editions, but not before it gives us another look at this year's Geneva show a little over a month from now. For any ordinary person, €75,000 is a big hunk of change. But when you consider that you're getting an exclusive carbon fiber supercar about as common as an Alfa 8C Competizione, and arguably just as good-lookin', it suddenly seems like a bargain. (Funny how Fisker can do that.) Look forward to the details and live shots we'll be sure to bring you next month from Switzerland..

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2008 Artega GT

One would think that the last thing this world needs is another car manufacturer, unless, of course, it's an ecologically relevant one like Tesla, Fisker, Think, or Ligier. A new sports car brand surely is only a recipe for commercial disaster. But Artega, a new German maker of sports cars, has conceived a very different product. "There are many things Artega is not," states Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, a longtime German automotive executive who has held top posts at BMW, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, and who has served as chief adviser to the Artega team since 2006.

"We're not a cottage car manufacturer, we are not in the bespoke business, we are not a coachbuilder, and we are going to stay well clear of the supercar segment. Our main stakeholder is Paragon, a leading Tier 1 systems supplier, and our mission is to occupy the niche that separates the high-volume from the tiny-volume sports car manufacturers." Artega's means to this end is the GT, a relatively affordable, mid-engine, two-seat coupe aimed at performance- and handling-oriented enthusiasts.

And here it comes, fresh out of the car wash, the new Artega GT: Shorter than a Honda Fit (157.9 inches), wider than a Mercedes-Benz S-class (74.0 inches), nearly as low as a Lamborghini Gallardo (46.5 inches). Designed by Henrik Fisker of BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 fame and now head of his own eponymous company. Powered by the Volkswagen Group, which agreed to sell its latest direct-injection VR6 engine and dual-clutch transmission to Paragon. Engineered in-house by a young crew of enthusiasts. Supported by renowned suppliers like BASF, Bilstein, Bosch, Brembo, Eibach, Hella, and Michelin. Built in a brand-new factory on a dedicated greenfield site in Delbrück, between Frankfurt and Hanover. Financed by a €20 million (approximately $29 million) budget, which covers more than just phase one of the gestation process. That's all very well, you say, but where is the special Artega touch? How does the GT differ from, say, a Porsche Cayman? "It's all in the mix," Kalbfell answers, smiling. "Thanks to the aluminum spaceframe structure, our car weighs only about 2425 pounds, undercutting the Cayman S by 550 pounds. This weight savings gives us a tangible acceleration and handling advantage.











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2009 Artega GT - First Drive Review

Every year, new wannabe Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis
turn up at the world’s motor shows, though most are incomplete and underfunded and never progress beyond the prototype stage.The Artega is the exception. The GT was developed in secret by a respected auto-industry supplier.
It took two years before it was ready, and there was no advance hype. The car emerged fully formed in 2007 at the Geneva show, ready for production.

And in October 2008, production began at a purpose-built plant in Delbrück, Germany.
Clearly, there is a depth of planning and commitment here. The company behind the Artega is Paragon AG, an electronics supplier best known for the stopwatch/lap timers fitted to Porsches. Paragon’s CEO is Klaus Dieter Frers, a prominent historic-car racer with an enviable collection of Porsches. So perhaps it is not surprising that Porsche was the inspiration for his very own sports car. The Artega is a lightweight, two-seat, mid-engined coupe with a transverse-mounted VW/Audi V-6 and DSG six-speed, double-clutch, automated manual transmission.

It is short (157.9 inches), wide (74.0 inches), and low (46.5 inches). The closest equivalent is the Porsche Cayman S, although the Artega is more than a foot shorter. Designed by Henrik Fisker—whose portfolio includes the aluminum-bodied BMW Z8, the Aston Martin V-8 Vantage, and the upcoming Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid— the Artega GT is shapely and well finished. And the company lured Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, the ex–sales supremo at BMW who has since headed Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, to handle sales and marketing.

Paragon’s small engineering team had never done a complete car before, but thanks to the close cooperation of some blue-chip suppliers—Bosch, Brembo, Bilstein, Michelin—it succeeded in producing a car that drives better than any first-time model of our experience. The Artega’s chassis is made largely from aluminum, with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body panels. The suspension is a classic unequal-length control-arm layout with coil-over shocks front and rear.

The 3.6-liter engine is the latest direct-injection V-6 found in the Volkswagen Passat CC. It produces 295 horsepower, which, in a car that weighs just 2600 pounds, should provide better-than-Porsche performance: 60 mph arrives in less than five seconds, and there’s a claimed top speed of at least 170 mph. At higher revs, the exhaust sound is terrific—it’s more like an Italian V-8 than a modest German V-6. A less pleasant booming inside the cabin at about 2500 rpm is one of the few things that needs fixing.

This is one of the first cars outside the Volks*wagen Group to use VW’s excellent DSG gearbox, which operates either automatically or manually via paddles behind the steering wheel. The Artega has its own software to dictate the shift program. The smoothness of operation and the compatibility of all the car’s controls are impressive. The steering, with electric power assistance, is direct and accurate yet not deflected by bumps. Body control is tight in fast cornering, yet the ride is settled and unusually comfortable for a sports car. The Artega has a nearly ideal suspension setup for normal road driving.

Although the exterior is voluptuous, the Artega’s interior is almost austere. It is neat, tidy, and spacious but does not look very special. Naturally, Paragon wants to showcase its “cockpit system.” The main analog instrument has a dual function: The rev counter is in the top arc, and the speedo is below it—both needles from the same axis. Electronic displays, which can be selected by the driver, emerge from a black panel that surrounds the center dial.

With a couple of refinement issues addressed, the Artega would compare favorably with sports coupes from the established premium automakers. The price—75,000 euros, or about $100,000—is some 25 percent higher than that of a Cayman S in Germany, but there is an element of exclusivity: In full production, only 500 Artegas are expected to be made a year. The first cars were delivered to customers in April, and the plan is to bring the car to the U.S. by 2011.

Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
BASE PRICE (GERMANY): $100,000
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, iron block and aluminum head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 220 cu in, 3598cc
Power (SAE net): 295 bhp @ 6600 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 258 lb-ft @ 2400 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed dual-clutch automated manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 96.9 in Length: 157.9 in Width: 74.0 in Height: 46.5 in Curb weight: 2600 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
Zero to 60 mph: 4.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.8 sec
Top speed (drag limited): 170 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D  EST):
EPA city driving: 17 mpg
EPA highway driving: 26 mpg

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