Followup on Brazilian sports cars

[autom?vel]

New Brazilian sports car to be exported already
Alexandre Rocha*
A month or so old, but I thought some of you would enjoy it anyway.



[size=8]The car manufacturer Lobini Autom?veis delivered last weekend the first two units of the Lobini H1 to Brazilian clients and in October will start shipping the model to the United States. The car, entirely developed in Brazil, is equipped with an Audi 1.8 litre Turbo engine and may reach 240 km/h. [/size]

S?o Paulo - Brazil has gone back to producing sports cars. Last weekend, Lobini Autom?veis, car factory located in the city of Cotia, in the great S?o Paulo city area, in the southeast of Brazil, delivered the first two units of the Lobini H1, car equipped with an 180-horsepower engine that may reach 240 kilometres per hour. And it was already born with an international vocation. At the same time the company starts selling the vehicle in the country, the company is signing an exports contract to the United States.

"It is a product that looks to the foreign market. For its sophistication, it is comparable to the international sports cars," said the partner director of the company, Cl?udio Pe?anha, to ANBA. According to him, Lobini's business plan foresees for the future an annual production between 100 and 150 units, which should be reached in 2007, with 60% directed for exports.

The agreement with the North American 1g Racing, which already trades sports cars in the United States, involves the delivery of one Lobini H1 for tests in October and the shipment of four cars per month as of the beginning of 2006, until they reach the total of 49. "But they believe its possible to place up to 100 cars per year in the United States," says Pe?anha. The businessman estimates the vehicle will cost US$ 47,000 in the North American market.

The factory also has its eye on the European consumer and has even developed a chassis with the steering wheel on the right hand side, for business in England. The English engineer Graham Holmes, who worked as a consultant in the project and has worked in other factories of the sort, such as Lotus, may become the brand's representative in the Old Continent, according to Pe?anha.

He also doesn't discard possibilities in the Arab countries. Afterall, the idea is to sell the car in any part of the world. "But to reach the Middle East, I believe we will first have to have a certain amount of exposure in the United States and Europe," declared Pe?anha.

In the internal scenario, the company accumulates 18 firm orders, including those that were delivered during the weekend. The car is only made on order and is part of a new fleet of national vehicles, directed at specific market niches. "We noticed there is space in Brazil for high level sports car," said Pe?anha.

Enthusiasts

The Lobini H1 started to appear in the beginning of 1999, when the lawyer Jos? Orlando Lobo got together with the engineer F?bio Birolini. From joining their surnames came the name Lobini. Both of them very fond of cars, the first had the resources to give start to the enterprise the latter the technical knowledge to manufacture a totally national sports car. The project was entirely conceived in Brazil and up to know has used up US$ 2 million in investments. Pe?anha, economist and also an engineer entered the business later as the business manager.

During the development of the project, the entrepreneurs counted on the services of the Federal University of S?o Carlos, in S?o Paulo, which carried out the tests with the model car in the wind tunnel, and of Chamonix, old Porsches replicas manufacturer, which built the first prototype.

The car was presented to the public for the first time during the International Car Salon in S?o Paulo, in 2002. At the occasion, according to Pe?anha, 56 reservations were made, of which 18 were converted into strong orders.

At the end of last year, the businessmen rented an industrial shed in Cotia where the factory was installed. Today 25 people work in the company. Great part of the car's components is manufactured in Brazil.

The car is equipped with a four cylinder VW Audi 1.8 litre Turbo engine, chassis produced by the company itself and a fibreglass carcass. Inspired in the English sports cars, the convertible, according to the manufacturer, speeds up from 0 to 100 km/h in less than six seconds. In Brazil it costs R$ 157,500 (US$ 64,700). When the factory's production is at full speed, Pe?anha believes the company's revenue may reach US$ 6.16 million.

Although the factory already counts on quite a few of series items, the factory gives the buyer the possibility of customising the vehicle, choosing the colour of the carcass and internal lining, including of the leather seats. "We have more than 10,000 colours to choose from. There will not be two identical cars," says Pe?anha. Only if, of course, the client wants it.

Contacts

Lobini Autom?veis
Tel: +55 (11) 4777-0185
Website: www.lobini.com.br

*Translated by Silvia Lindsey