[VIDEO] Corvette-based 2014 Soleil Anadi at the New York Auto Show

Photo Credit: Jim Motavalli/NY Times

We first told you about the Soleil Anadi, a custom car based on a C6 Corvette, back in 2011.

Now the Italian-based Soleil Motors is showing pictures of its 2014 Anadi, which the company says translates into “no limits” in Hindi.

Adhar Srivastava, founder and chief executive, says the Anadi aims for “the customer who wants an exclusive car that is not readily available, and that his or her friends don’t have.”

We’d say the car definitely lives up to that goal, especially with the price tag at a staggering $299,995. (We have to believe it might have been more popular had it been based on a C7 instead.)

Still, the latest model that was shown in Dubai resulted in three orders from Middle Eastern customers. That’s a pretty big dent in the company’s humble aspirations to build 25 cars this year, with Soleil expecting most sales to come from the Middle East, Brazil, Russia, India, and China. They aren’t expecting many sales in the U.S. or Europe, though Srivastava expects American sales to be available by the end of the year.

The Anadi is definitely an over-the-top car. With its striking matte red finish and supercharged Corvette 6.2-liter, 651 horsepower engine capable of propelling the massaged Corvette from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds and then to a top speed of 201 mph (or more if you want it, Soleil promises), the Anadi is a statement-maker. So far, the cars have been made of fiberglass, but in the works is a carbon-fiber model that cuts the weight 22 percent and offers 920 horsepower.

Photo Credit: Jim Motavalli/NY Times

Srivastava, who was a philosophy major at New York University, admitted to The New York Times that he is not an experienced carmaker but he promises to deliver old world Italian craftsmanship. We thought Ferrari was already doing that.

Still, the Times came away with a mixed bag of comments about the Anadi, writing that it “is a rather attractive car, with the show vehicle finished in an arresting shade of matte-finish red. The relatively big trunk is a useful feature for supercar owners with something larger than a backpack to move. But some interior features need work. The show car was opulent, with acres of Italian leather and plentiful use of rosewood accents, but it had a generic-looking Kenwood screen instead of more modern electronics. Some controls weren’t well placed, and not all finishing was optimal. The wood, although real, was so heavily processed and polished that it looked fake.. On the positive side for cars like this, the would-be owner has considerable input into interior details like infotainment. And female passengers get a handy hook to keep their expensive handbags off the floor.”

Source:
NY Times

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