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America IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, NO; IT’S ARIA FXE WRITTEN BY: RAPHAEL MADRID If you’ve ever been inside a concept car from a major manufacturer, there’s a chance that the Aria Group is responsible for the body of that devilish beauty. They’re the phantom company that works with brands to bring unique, eye-catching concepts to life. Sure they’ve worked with Porsche, Ford and Tesla, but they’ve also partnered with Disney’s Cars and Paramount Pictures’ Transformers films—this 23-year-old design company is not your average kid on the tech block. Like anyone trying to make their mark on the world, the Aria Group isn’t looking to limit themselves to what they’re known for. The design, engineering and manufacturing group based out of Irvine has emerged from the shadows from its work behind the curtains to come center stage by manufacturing their first completely American hybrid supercar.
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The Aria FXE is the speed-demon hypercar of your dreams, with a 1,150 horsepower, supercharged V8 engine, supported by two axial flux induction electric motors—this beautifully sculpted bolt of lightning on wheels can take you from zero to 60 by the time you count to three. Aria’s hypercar is fast, that’s without question, but it’s speed isn’t the only reason it’s turning heads. The FXE wants to compete in the same coliseum as the supercars of European origin. “When you think about cars of this caliber, what brands usually come to mind? Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani—all European, right? We want to change that,” Design Director Nicholas David said.
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT There will be two versions of the hypercar going into production: an all-wheel and twowheel drive version. I CAN SEE YOUR HALO Aria Group has also produced a model of the Warthog vehicle from the Halo video game series.
In a world where the rarest and most soughtafter supercars herald from across the pond, the Aria FXE faces an arduous uphill battle. To be willing to clash against the Goliaths of the automotive industry is part of what makes this vehicle that much more worthy of our attention. Limited to 400 units going into production, this American-born roadster will not be easily attainable. “This is the challenge we face, but you don’t climb Everest just to stay at the base camp. You climb it to get to the top. We’re a small, humble company, but we don’t want to come as far as we have to just stop now. We respect what our European friends are doing, but we want to climb to the top,” President and CEO Clive Hawkins said. From start to finish, every piece and detail of the Aria FXE is built in-house with the desire to prove the superiority of American engineering.
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ARIA GROUP 17395 Daimler St Irvine, CA 92614 949.475.2915 www.aria-group.com
