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By Georg Kacher
09 September 2008 09:50
The new Artega GT is a Porsche Cayman S rival at 911 money from a brand new German manufacturer. Delusions of grandeur? Perhaps not, because the chief advisor to the project is Karlheinz Kalbfell, an ex-BMW man who helped launch Mini and Rolls-Royce under German ownership, before moving onto Alfa and Maserati. And the VW Group supplies the engine and transmission – the last car luckily enough to get such a privilege was the KTM X-Bow, and that turned out to be rather good. Has VW backed another winner?
In Germany the 296bhp Artega starts at just under €75k (c.£60k), €15k (£12k) more than the a 295bhp Cayman S. But once you cast your eyes over the spec sheet it’s not too bad – the GT comes with bi-xenon headlights, proper bucket seats, sat-nav, 19-inch wheels and a twin-clutch gearbox. Spec a Cayman S to that level and the Artega is only ten percent more expensive, and it might just summon up more emotion than the comparatively common Porsche.
Our lime green test car looks stunning. It might be a shorter than a Ford Focus, but it’s nearly as wide and as low as a Lamborghini Gallardo. Add in the labels that the fashonista love – Brembo, Michelin, Eibach, Bilstein – and you’ve got pretty decent ingredients for a sports car.
Click 'Next' below to read our driving impressions of the Artega GTFor our full drive of the new Artega GT, buy the latest October 2008 issue of CAR Magazine. Click here for a digital preview
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Vilagos says
RE: Artega GT (2008) CAR review
Mr. Kacher makes no mention of air bags, other safety passive equipment or crash test rating for the Artega GT. Is Artega considered a manufacturer by TüV in Germany, or is it built under some kind of single vehicle type approval? All well and good to claim you aren't a kit car, but if you haven't jumped all the hurdles the big boys have to, then it's just hot air.
15 September 2008 18:21
jl123 says
All the GARBAGE that has been fed to us by the CAR media and the major manufacturers that support the media; that Porsche and Ferrari spent millions upon millions of man-hours developing their cars to hone them in a way nothing but geniuses with massive experience can, is total BS! Plenty of people and companies can make great cars and give us customers plenty more choice than the same same same...
10 September 2008 23:34
PT100 says
The specifications sound interesting. Just hope they do not forget to have the proper back up (eg servicing, parts, etc) in place when sales begin. That is almost always the bug bear of limited or small scale production models. Hence, many prefer to continue to buy from known producers.
09 September 2008 17:22
kubrick says
The Evora must be a lot bigger to accommodate two adults and two children, which might go some way of explaining the weight difference. The Artega is so short it actually makes the Cayman look like a large GT in comparison.
09 September 2008 16:45
jacomoseven says
It's a looker right enough, altho not sure about the black side vent. What really impresses is the 1100 kilo weight - CAR, is this dry weight, or loaded up? If it's the latter, Lotus really need to look at the Evora, which is supposed to come in 250 kilos heavier!
09 September 2008 14:55
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