ARES DESIGN REVEALS THE EXCLUSIVE 641BHP ARES PANTHER
Based on the Lamborghini Huracan, the De Tomaso Pantera inspired ARES Panther will go on sale later this year.
ARES Design has a surprise in store for us with the release of details and disguised images of its new custom-built supercar, the ARES Panther. And, just to make it even more intriguing, they're only building 21 vehicles at a cost of around £461,000.
Calling it The Panther isn't just because they like rather large, black cats, rather, it's a nod to the car that's inspired it – the De Tomaso Pantera. Although camouflaged, it's overall shape is clearly a homage to the original, with its long front overhang and sharp nose and excellent pop-up headlights. Moving rearwards, the Panther features cool slats in both the tail lights and engine cover, while four huge tailpipes exit the rear bumper.
Under the carbon fibre skin, the ARES Panther is basically a tweaked Lamborghini Huracan, with both the engine and gearbox reworked to increase performance. Engine capacity has increased from 5.2 to 5.6 litres and, for the time being, output figures sit at 641bhp and 560Nm – although ARES reckon those numbers could increase as development progresses. The Huracan's seven-speed dual clutch gearbox receives revised software to deal with the increases in power.
Operating out of Modena, Italy, ARES Design was founded by ex-Lotus CEO, Danny Bahar, in 2015. He says “This is a really exciting moment for us. Within just six months of announcing the Panther project, we have our test car on the road and are ready to present to the world our expression of a car that I dreamt of as a kid. The ARES Panther will be the perfect blend of old school charm and charisma, underpinned with an iconic modern chassis, and clothed in full carbon.”
The Huracan isn't the only car to inspire the ARES Design team, they have begun to design custom coach-built versions of on the Rolls-Royce Wraith and Bentley Mulsanne too. The main goal of the design team was to create ‘future classics that reflect the essence of iconic cars’.
Each Panther will take 24 weeks to build in their recently announced 18,000m² factory in Modena when it goes on sale to customers in the second half of 2018.