ETERNITI PRESS CALL
20th April 2012
WELCOME
[Marcus Kenny, Global Sales Director]
Ladies and gentlemen - good morning and welcome to the Eterniti stand. I’m Marcus Kenny, Global Sales Director at Eterniti Motors Ltd. We are a first-time exhibitor here in Beijing and we know how busy you are today - so thank you very much for making the time to come to see us for an introduction to the company and the global launch of our first product, the Eterniti Artemis.
The Artemis is the world’s first Super-SUV - as we have termed the class of vehicle which will slot in above the best current luxury SUVs. Super-SUVs will offer more luxury and performance than has been previously available in this kind of car. But we firmly believe that a Super-SUV should also offer more passenger space, exclusivity and opportunities for personalising your vehicle.
Great names like Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini are following us into this new market niche. We know that as a new, small company we cannot compete head-on with such brands. However, we can compete in ways which are important to the kind of luxury car customer we will appeal to here in China and other key markets. By definition our size means that we will be even more exclusive, and able to offer a more personal service. Our independence will be attractive to people who do not want to deal with part of a large OEM group which also makes more everyday products. And we can provide bespoke specifications to a degree which does not make economic sense for larger carmakers.
We have also addressed the specific requirements of the Chinese customer by building two unique selling points into our car. We have engineered and packaged the rear passenger compartment to offer exceptional legroom. This is a vital feature of our limousine-like rear cabin, which has twin multi-functional pilot seats that recline electronically. The limousine experience is enhanced by features including concealed iPad-ready holders with electronic reveal, and a wine chiller. The Artemis satisfies a growing - and currently unmet – demand for an SUV suitable for being chauffeured in.
But we know that Chinese customers in particular also want their luxury SUV to offer a rewarding driving experience for occasions when they want to take the wheel. So we have given the Artemis more performance, with a more potent engine and more responsive handling.
An SUV’s ride height and ruggedness are ideal for the variable road surfaces which can make limousines and conventional high-performance cars impractical, and the Artemis is both the most luxurious and the most dynamic SUV available. It offers the best of both worlds. We think it is the ultimate crossover.
The two vehicles on display are in fact running prototypes, which have been used for testing purposes, so they do not represent the quality of finish of the production vehicles in all areas. However, they are very close indeed to the final exterior and interior styling and specification. These are not concept vehicles and in fact we are taking orders from today.
The interiors are handcrafted and include the finest Italian leathers, British lambswool rugs, veneers including natural woods, piano black and carbon fibre, quilted undercarpets and boot trim, a choice of sunroofs and starlight roof lining, and of course state-of-the-art audio and infotainment.
With a similar specification to these show vehicles the Artemis is priced at the local currency equivalent of £210,000 Sterling plus local taxes in all markets except China, where the price will be [TBC] owing to the local vehicle taxation regime.
Customers will be able to specify their cars with unique combinations of trim and options chosen from 15 exterior paints finishes and a choice of polished chrome, dark chrome or painted finishes. There are 10 leather trim colours, with multiple patterning and stitching styles, 5 veneers and a choice of alcantara. So every car will be unique.
But, for those demanding complete personalisation, a fully bespoke service will also be offered, with cars priced individually. If a customer wants monogrammed details, etched chrome, colours matched to a personal possession, gem stones or more performance, then they can have them.
To provide a service to match the product we are establishing a network of wholly-owned showrooms in key locations. The showroom at our 7000 sq metre London headquarters, where the cars are built, will be completed by July. The Asia-Pacific region will be served by a dual hub in Taipei and Hong Kong, where a sales team is already operational, with both showrooms opening this Summer. Tokyo will follow in 2013, when we will also establish representation in mainland China, for which we are actively recruiting dealers.
Eterniti is a relatively news business but it has excellent credentials. Our people have extensive experience of retailing and distributing marques including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche in the UK and the Asia-Pacific region.
Our people also have competition in their blood, having run FIA GT championship-winning motor racing teams in Europe and Asia. Not only that, but our test and development consultant and brand ambassador Johnny Herbert is the winner of three Formula 1 races and one Le Mans 24-Hour classic.
And our head of engineering, Alastair Macqueen, has an outstanding pedigree in both motor sport and road cars. He has won Le Mans no less than three times, for Bentley and Jaguar. And he also developed the Jaguar XJ220 – then the world’s fastest road car – from prototype to production. He is superbly qualified for developing the Eterniti Artemis, and I would now like to hand you over to Alastair to tell you a little more about the project.
[Alastair MacQueen, Head of Engineering]
Thank you Marcus and good morning everyone.
As you may be aware, the Artemis is based on an existing platform. To try to create a car from the ground up would be naive and probably suicidal. Even major luxury brands inevitably use platforms and components from other brands of course. Bentley within VW Group for instance, and Maserati at Fiat.
As an independent carmaker we can source in the best technologies from wherever we like – and as the Artemis demonstrates, where we use platforms, drivetrains or other components they will be from benchmark products.
We believe that the VW Group platform which underpins the Artemis is the best in the industry. And in the form of the latest-generation Porsche Cayenne Turbo it is also the sportiest and most technologically advanced SUV currently available, allowing us to enter the market with the best product possible product and ahead of the competition.
Having said that, at Eterniti the car undergoes a significant transformation, which has enabled us to create the world’s first Super-SUV. For us that goal means not simply more luxury and performance - but a vehicle which can offer both chauffeur-driven comfort and the dynamics of a performance car. Unlike a conventional limousine, an SUV’s relatively compact footprint and wheelbase mean that it can still offer driver appeal. Nevertheless, as an engineer it was a big challenge to achieve the balance between ride comfort and responsiveness.
So we give every Artemis a complete chassis-up rebuild. The principal behind it is similar to the way Alpina work, but with an interior more akin to a Maybach.
All body panels are new and constructed from lightweight carbon-composite. The bespoke 23” forged allow wheels are also super-lightweight, and fitted with ultra-low profile 315/25 tyres. We have worked hard on the spring and damper rates, anti-roll system, ride heights, engine tune and exhaust system. We also have a wider track to suit the overall body width of up to 2055mm.
I think the Eterniti team – which has included testing with Johnny Herbert at the wheel - has achieved exceptional dynamics, particularly with regard to turn-in, grip and traction, steering and overall balance, while retaining very good levels of ride comfort.
To complement the handling we have naturally engineered more power and torque into the car. The 4.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine produces over 600bhp (441kW) and 750Nm (553 lb ft) torque, can accelerate from 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds and can exceed 290kph. It would have been perfectly possible to achieve more power, but we believe that torque is the most meaningful factor, particularly for a luxury vehicle.
The interior has presented its own challenges. We have re-packaged it to create the limousine-style rear cabin, with not only individual rear seats but extended legroom of up to 100mm, without increasing the wheelbase.
Eterniti may be a new company but we want to build the best cars, with real engineering integrity, for very specific market segments, in a timescale more closely allied to motor racing than conventional production car manufacturers.
From an engineering point of view we think we can begin to challenge the major manufacturers, even with their vast resources, by engineering bespoke solutions initially using existing mechanical and virtual platforms - something I’m very familiar with from the motorsport arena.
We have very experienced people on board and the agility of a small company to target and fulfil small niche markets. At Eterniti I’m enjoying renewing successful working partnerships with both Johnny Herbert and our General Manager, Tim Sugden. Both have great skills in addition to their driving expertise and they are part of a team which I believe can bring vehicles to the market with real luxury credentials in addition to sound driving dynamics.
Thank you.
Beijing Auto China 2012 Press Kit:
WORLD’S FIRST SUPER-SUV
BRAND
BUSINESS CASE
CREDENTIALS AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT
IMAGES