Elite Traveler March-April 2016

The DeLorean DMC-12, made famous by the Back to the Future movies

elite traveler MAR/APR 2016 43

AFORCETO BE RECKONEDWITH

Leather, suede and champagne are great, if rarely combined in a supercar’s interior. But there is something recklessly defiant about the new VLF Force 1, unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January to rave reviews and a legal challenge. Founded and run by entrepreneur Gilbert Villarreal, former GM executive Bob Lutz and designer Henrik Fisker (hence VLF), it was Fisker’s history as head of design at Aston Martin that caused the legal problems – he filed a $100m lawsuit against the British brand after they asked for the car not to be unveiled, as they thought it too similar to the DB10. The Force 1 is VLF’s second car and is a tweaked Dodge Viper. The 8.4-liter, V10 engine delivers 745bhp, accelerates from 0-60mph in three seconds and has a top speed of 218mph. A focus on comfort, detail (a two bottle champagne holder) and performance means extra weight, offset by a body built from carbon fiber. From $268,000, vlfautomotive.com

THE POWER OF THREE The rest of the best recent releases

PAST: RETURN OF AN ICON On October 21 last year we passed Back to the Future day amid much talk of hoverboards. But the real star of the movies was always the car, the DeLorean DMC-12, mourned by many after the company’s demise in 1983. Now, the Texas based firm that purchased the components from the collapsed company has been given permission to turn the components, together with some new underpinnings, into 300 new/old cars, priced at around $100,000 each. delorean.com PRESENT: LEXUS LC 500 It’s been a while, but here is a mainstream Lexus that car people are getting excited about. Taking some of the best bits from its LF-A supercar, this is a new sports coupé that delivers on looks, performance and comfort. The LC 500 strikes a great balance between being fun to drive and practical. It claims to be a four seater, although that low roofline means the two people in the back had better be small. But it is a high performance car, with a meaty five-liter V8 engine producing 467bhp, which gets the car from 0-60mph in just over four seconds. lexus.com FUTURE: AN INTERESTING CONCEPT Among the gadgets capturing imaginations at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was the Faraday Future FFZERO1. Anyone with a passing knowledge of science won’t be surprised that a concept from a company called Faraday is electric, but this new racer busts the myth that electric cars are ugly. It looks like the Batmobile and, with four motors generating over 1,000bhp, can shift like one. The 0-60mph time is under three seconds, with a top speed of over 200mph. faradayfuture.com

The Faraday Future FFZERO1 (left and below left), which boasts over 1,000bhp; the five-liter V8 Lexus LC 500 (below)

Words: Richard Cree. Photo: Getty Images