Currently reading: Ares Design previews 1950s-style Wami Lalique Spyder
Retro roadster features a crystal-clad cabin and takes design inspiration from historic sports car greats

The 1950s-style Wami Lalique Spyder is the latest model from ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar's Ares Design outfit and it's said to be "unlike anything" the firm has produced before. 

Its debut - in digitally rendered form - follows the unveiling earlier this year of the company's 641bhp Panther ProgettoUno and, like that car, draws styling inspiration from renowned historic sports cars. 

The company does not list any particular cars that have influenced the Wami's design, but the gaping 'egg crate' front grille and side vents are reminiscent of the Ferrari 250 GT and the protruding headlights seem to hark back to cars like the BMW 507. 

Just 12 units will be made, with no indication of pricing, but order books are open now and the Wami can be expected to roughly match its Panther sibling's £461,000 list price. 

The retro-style, aluminium-heavy interior has been "delicately" decorated by French crystal manufacturer Lalique - hence the model's full name - and features a dashboard crafted from English oak housing white tinted dials, which, Ares says, is "a symbol of a mythical era". 

The company is yet to detail the Wami's powertrain, but it can at least be seen to feature a manual gearbox. Large-bore exhaust outlets and a remarkably long bonnet would suggest the car uses a large-capacity engine of eight or more cylinders. 

"The more the project progresses, the more we appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the car we are co-creating with Lalique," said Ares co-founder Waleed Al Ghafari. "It is unlike anything we have produced in the past.

"The Wami Lalique Spyder will be a real gem - the ultimate luxury accessory. Its drivers will be able to appreciate the charm of trips as in the 1950s on the Côte d'Azur or the Amalfi Coast aboard a magnificent masterpiece of the automobile; the embodiment of excellence."

READ MORE

641bhp Ares Panther ProgettoUno revealed

Ares Design S1 shown in Europe as limited-run NA V8 supercar​

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

Join the debate

Comments
10
Add a comment…
russ13b 13 December 2020

Which car is it built from? One of Bahar's things is that they try to avoid type approval as much as possible, but looking at the price tag them saying "it's an MX5 underneath" seems unlikely to happen. Anyone recognise the windscreen shape or anything?

scrap 17 December 2020
russ13b wrote:

Which car is it built from? One of Bahar's things is that they try to avoid type approval as much as possible, but looking at the price tag them saying "it's an MX5 underneath" seems unlikely to happen. Anyone recognise the windscreen shape or anything?

 

Nope, but from the proportions I would guess it's an AMG GT.

jonboy4969 12 December 2020

I Dont like it, it looks too out of proportion and weird, i would rather have a real 50's car or maybe the new P1800 from Polestar/Volvo

MrJ 12 December 2020

Interesting retro take, but a bit too lookalike for me.

Probably best as an EV.

Autocar spam rules are running riot these days, as the innocuous two lines above have been rejected three times...