A decade ago, Ferris Rezvani launched a company bearing his name and introduced the world to the Beast. Now, the company is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a second-generation model that transforms the series, or to be more precise, GM’s Corvette C8, into a hypercar-rivaling powerhouse – even if Rezvani masterfully avoids saying so. The new model boasts a selection of features the company claims have never been seen in the segment. While that’s a bold claim, let’s start with the more conventional details. The 2024 Rezvani Beast is essentially a re-skinned Corvette C8, powered by a tuned version of its mid-mounted 6.2-liter V8. With the help of a pair of turbochargers and some other bits, it generates up to 1,000 hp in “Beast Mode”, or more than twice as much as the base C8.
The GM engine is connected to the wheels
via an eight-speed DCT transaxle from Tremec that provides the car with
lightning-fast gear changes, and a limited slip differential. Thanks to the
quick shifts and the enormous amount of power, Rezvani claims that the Beast
can accelerate to 96 km/h in just 2.5 seconds. Also helpful are the
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires that are wrapped around the 20-inch wheels
at the front and the 21-inch wheels at the back. Take this as you will, but
Rezvani claims that the lightweight carbon fiber body covering the C8 “is made
with a special carbon fiber using high-temperature resins that are used in the
latest generation of US fighter jets like the F-35.” Nevertheless, the Beast of
a Corvette weighs just 1,352 kg, which enables it to run the
quarter-mile in just 9.6 seconds.
Much like the exterior, the interior of
the Beast is carried over from the Corvette C8, but heavily customized with
bespoke upholstery, a revised lower center console that does away with the
string of buttons, and a yoke steering wheel of sorts. So far, that’s all
pretty standard stuff, and its design (though attractive) won’t exactly rock
the segment, as you can see in the video below. However, Rezvani claims that
its optional packages are what really make the new Beast like no other vehicle
in the segment. The US$ 55,000 Bullet Proof Package adds bulletproof glass and
body panels to the vehicle (no word on how much weight that adds), and if you
want to really feel like a spy, you can opt for the US$ 45,000 ‘007’ Package.
It adds unusual extras like strobe lights,
sirens and horns, an intercom system, a first aid and a hypothermia kit, run
flat tires, gas masks, and a thermal night vision system. It also adds some
features we’re surprised are legal on a vehicle. These include a pepper spray
dispenser, a smoke screen, electrified door handles, “blinding lights,” EMP
pulse protection, magnetic deadbolts, and explosive device detection.
If you’re the same kind of childish as the
Rezvani, the coach-builder plans to produce just 20 examples of the hypercar
and they all come with a starting price of US$ 485,000 or about seven times the
cost of a base Corvette C8. You can configure yours on the company’s website.
