Long-dead luxury marque Minerva on comeback trail with new supercar

[Haltech]

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Supercars



Minerva Automobiles isn't exactly a hot name on the lips of most auto enthusiasts. The original company was founded way back in 1897 and stayed in business until 1956. In that time it boasted some hugely important names from the auto industry as employees, including Rolls-Royce co-founder Charles S. Rolls. Last year, the brand showed off its J.M. Brabazon concept and made some huge performance claims. Now, the business is revealing a few more details about it with even more opulent insanity.

The J.M. Brabazon is now being split into two trims - the Excellence (above) and Royal (right). Regardless of which buyers choose, they get a twin-turbo V12 producing a claimed 1,000 horsepower mounted behind the driver and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The crazy power doesn't stop there because two electric motors are mounted at the front and one at the rear to add an additional 200 hp. The company reports a purely electric range of over 62 miles. With 1,200 hp on tap, Minerva believes that the J.M. Brabazon can get to 62 mph in less than 2.1 seconds and to an estimated top speed of about 249 mph (400 kilometers per hour). Additional over-the-top features include four-wheel steering and active aero elements at the front and rear.

To separate the two trims, Minerva is giving each one its own interior style. The Royal is all about luxury with a dashboard embellished with gold, platinum and carbon. There's also a bespoke bag fitted behind the rear seats. The Excellence is more stripped down and purposeful, and instead of the fitted luggage, the back carries helmets, race suits, fire retardant underwear, gloves and shoes.

As both the latest and earlier images seem to indicate, the J.M. Brabazon still exists predominately in renderings. It'll be interesting to see if a brand returning after over half a century can really live up to these extravagant performance promises. Scroll down to read the company's full release.Continue reading Long-dead luxury marque Minerva on comeback trail with new supercar

Long-dead luxury marque Minerva on comeback trail with new supercar originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Oct 2014 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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