AF-10 in the limelight again

Three years ago, Arash announced that it was starting development of its very own supercar. A prototype was finished in time for the 2006 London Motor Show, but since then news regarding the AF-10 has been fairly scarce until the company announced last week that it's ready finally ready for production.

The project is headed by UK-based businessman Arash Farboud, who masterminded the Farbio GTS (née Farboud GTS), and was conceived to offer the same exclusivity you would expect from rivals such as Koenigsegg and Pagani, with the same colossal performance, but without the giant price tags. Farboud also ensured that the AF-10 was developed by the best in the supercar business.

The AF-10 is constructed almost entirely from carbon, including a body shell built by renowned composite material producer EPM Technology, and a chassis fine-tuned by none other than Loris Bicocchi, who was responsible for development on pre-Diablo Lamborghinis, Pagani Zondas, Koenigsegg CCX and EB Bugattis as well as the Veyron. The entire structure weighs in at approximately 1 260 kg.

The AF-10 is powered by the same 7,0-litre V8 that does service in the Corvette Z06, tuned to produce just under 400 kW and 600 N.m of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed Graziano manual gearbox, and a sub four second zero to 100 km/h sprint sounds feasible, likely to be improved when the six-speed sequential transmission from the Zonda F becomes available as an option. Top speed is expected to be in the region of 350 km/h.

As impressive as this may sound, Arash is reportedly also working on an even higher performance model with a top speed in excess of 400 km/h. Yet to be named, this model is believed to be powered by a twin supercharged 7,2-litre V8 that produces a 895 kW and close to 1 300 N.m of torque.

Stopping duties are taken care of by ventilated carbon ceramic discs (measuring 380 mm in front and 362 mm at the rear) and 8 piston AP Racing calipers that peek out behind a set of lightweight alloys wrapped in 265/35 R19 Michelin tyres for the front corners, with 335/30 R20 rubber on the rear axle.

Only 70 AF-10s are expected to be built over the next five years, at a cost of £320 000 each in its domestic market.