As Flat As A Corvette

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

With the Artega GT, a completely new German sports car will be launched these days. With 220 kW / 300 PS, the two-seater, which costs 74,983 euros, competes against the Porsche Cayman, among others.

By Stefan Vosswinkel

Wide, beefy, flat and incredibly compact - the Artega is as short as a Golf and as wide as a Corvette. Only when you have seen it live do you notice how big a Porsche 911 has become in recent years. Nevertheless, the GT offers space for two people and plenty of luggage behind the driver and front passenger. The two Recaro sports seats fit exactly, the small leather steering wheel fits perfectly in the hand. You can see very well; to the front over the short dashboard and the fenders, to the rear through the deep rear window. The instruments are a weird mix of old school and music of the future, the classic speedometer is gripped by two TFT monitors with displays for tank content, cooling water and oil temperature as well as for the G-forces when accelerating and braking. And so the Artega offers enough individual handwriting,to distract from the high-volume parts. We already know the ignition lock, air nozzles and steering levers, for example, from various Volkswagen models. The processing quality is at a high level, because nothing rattles or rattles with the GT. This is not a matter of course in small series production. An Artega is currently being built every day, and 500 cars are to be produced in the coming year

Westphalia location

Everything about the Artega GT is new: the manufacturer, the location, the production facilities and the concept. The head of the project is Klaus Dieter Frers, a medium-sized entrepreneur who founded the supplier company Paragon over 20 years ago. Frers is now building a sports car in the sleepy Westphalian town of Delbrück. He not only relies on his own ability for the project, but has teamed up with everything that has had rank, name and success in recent years. The brand name Artega, for example, is a made-up word by Manfred Gotta - who has given cars like the Opel Calibra or Porsche Cayenne a catchy name.

The design comes from Henrik Fisker, who was a former designer at Aston Martin and BMW.

500 cars planned

V6 from Volkswagen

The 3.6-liter V6 engine above the rear axle is not built in-house, but comes from Volkswagen. But what awakens in the rear when starting has nothing in common with the Lower Saxony cold blood VW Passat R36. The direct injection thuds so much with the first throttle that a Cayman would turn pale with envy. Artega has coordinated the engine management and the exhaust system itself and combined it with a powerful exhaust. Nevertheless, the GT - it stands for Grand Tourismo, i.e. large touring car - lives up to its name and offers decent comfort on long journeys. The engine is pleasantly restrained at low speeds, and the suspension absorbs a surprising number of impacts despite the flat tires. It only gets rough on bad slopes.

Almost a lightweight

The Artega treats itself to the sharpest handling beyond the Lotus Elise. No wonder, since it only weighs 1,150 kilograms when empty. This is made possible by the lightweight construction technology with an aluminum frame and carbon fiber reinforced plastic body. This is not only sporty, but also contemporary. After all, the athlete only consumes 9.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers despite his performance. The GT is in its element on winding country roads. Brake, turn in, accelerate out of the curve. It rarely works so lightly and perfectly. The dual clutch transmission is all the fun and downshifts quickly and without interruption of tractive power with a sporty double-declutching fanfare. Only the brakes leave room for improvement: the pedal feel is spongy, the delay itself could be more snappy.

Demand exceeds supply

Klaus Dieter Frers calls 74,983 euros for his first work. The equipment is almost complete with dual clutch transmission, xenon headlights, navigation system, 19-inch wheels and sound system. Before reaching for the piggy bank, however, you should ask one of the five German Artega dealers or the factory itself whether there is still a car this year. The demand far exceeds the factory's capacity, according to company statements. That could also be because a Porsche Cayman S is only a few hundred euros cheaper. At Artega, however, they don't really like the comparison with Porsche. “We don't build a Porsche, we have a completely different concept,” says Frers. (mid)