When 'Toy Story' first it the scene, there was one animation studio that took things to a whole new level and all thanks to 3D animation. It was for all practical purposes a revolution and that's really the beginning of a change in perception when it came to the animation industry. A similar revolution could have been started by a supercar maker in Asia.
Well, let's get one thing out of the way, no it's not India; rather Philippines. When you hear supercar, Philippines might not be the first word to pop into your head. You're more likely to think of Italians - Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Pagani Zonda - or Germany (Porsche) or even Sweden (Koenigsegg). Then again there's always a first time and this one's called Aurelio which is the first Filipino made supercar.
It's a company made up of friends and you have at the helm siblings Kevin, 22 and Bryan Factor, 25, and Brendan Aurelio, 37. While the younger brother Kevin researches the internal mechanics of the car, Brendan takes charge of designing the interior and exterior of the car. What Bryan's left with then is the business side of things and hence looks after the marketing and the investment in the project. It's the passion for cars that sees these brothers achieve a herculean task and that is to create a home-grown supercar. The Aurelio, then, is a boost to local automotive manufacturing in the Philippines.
On the design front, the Aurelio has the undeniable look of a supercar and you might even mistake it for a modified Ferrari 458 Italia. The front fascia and the contours have a bit of 'Italian' written over it. The scissor doors bear familiarity too as they look more like the ones on the McLaren P1, while the rear appears to have been inspired by the Lamborghini Aventador. Then there is the low-slung ground clearance, and well-defined sharp edges that help it carry off its supercar credentials. About 80 per cent of the car's parts and components came from the Philippines but for the wheels, transmission, brakes, engine and some of the suspension components. The rest is all sourced locally.
But, of course, you want to know more about the engine. Well, it comes with two engine options - the Honda B16A V-TEC engine (the same as the one found in the old Honda Civic Si) and the 2.0 litre Mitsubishi 4G63T turbocharged engine which is all about power. The engine from Mitsubishi packs in 510 horses and tops out at 290km/h. In fact it can do a quarter mile run in just under 10 seconds. Now, it's able to achieve this because of weight saving materials like carbon fiber and fiberglass which makes it light and hence quick. Then there are the 18-inch Rota wheels which give it that much needed grip and the VR4 front and rear suspension help in giving it stability.
There's a sidepod cabin that is made from fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) and carbon fiber firewall components but the interiors specifications have still not been specified. However, we think that features and upholstery can be customized according to its buyer's preferences thus giving each car a bit of exclusivity.
Factor Aurelio Automobile says that it can produce 10 units a year and this is when there are four people working on the car. Coming to the cost, the Aurelio costs about P1.6 million which when converted to our currency is Rs. 22 lakh, making it a poor man's supercar. Sadly you can't have it in India yet, but if it did come, would you buy one? We applaud the effort put in to make the car and this might just be the start of more things to come.
