This is the Lyonheart K, a photorealistic screensaver inspired by the Jaguar E-Type.
It is designed for the sole purpose of milking every possible cent from the cloud of pink nostalgia in which the the 50-year-old Jaguar E-Type languishes.
So far, the Lyonheart K only exists as photo-realistic 3D renderings like the ones shown, created on Autodesk’s 3ds Max and Rhinoceros3d, supported by the Adobe suite of programs.
Bo Zolland, the expert designer who creates this modern form of photo-realistic art, is in his late fifites. He founded Vizualtech in Sweden in 1999, and designs and renders cars in 3D for a long list of aftermarket-customising companies.
In naming this metallic ode to the E-type, Zolland last year called the first version the Growler E. Some people think a Swedish idea got lost in translation. Others think it is a good case study of using subliminal marketing as a blunt instrument.
Undeterred, his design partner Robert Palm started, well, palming to the idea of celebrating the E-Type by making this car for a receptive audience in Europe, just two days after April Fools last year.
The feedback they got was so good that VizualTech and Swiss company Classic Factory registered Lyonheart Cars Ltd — “an all-British company” for the sole purpose of turning the 3D screensaver into reality.
The next step is for at least 50 people to deposit about R50 000 each into the Swiss Company Classic Factory, which is when the all-British Lyonheart Cars will outsource the 50 models. Each car will cost €495 000 (R5,06 million) excluding taxes.
Meanwhile, Zolland’s original 3D picture is still touted on websites, still under Vizualtech’s name, but now dubbed the Eagle Speedster, and costing only £85 000 (R1,02 million). Internet reports have it that Vizualtech will also start building its newly dubbed Eagle this year.
Answering questions by e-mail from The Witness, Palm said some 30 customers have already shown strong interest in the past few days.
As surely the most beautiful way any tenderpreneur can flaunt his or her wealth, one or two Lyonhearts may just come to South Africa.
Palm said the cars will be shipped wherever customers want them, but cautioned delivery costs are included only in the EU and Switzerland. “The Lyonheart will not be available in the United States and Canada, at least not at this stage,” said Palm.
Assembly will take about six months, with no more than three or four cars made simultaneously.
Let the buyer beware:
LIKE a cellphone contract, Classic Cars terms and conditions leave depositors with no leg to stand on, should the relationship turn sour. Here are some exerpts.
• Condition 2.3: “You understand that the preorder deposit of 5 000 euros is paid to the Classic Cars Factory solely to allow you to receive the purchase agreement, and not as earnest money or forfeit money in the sense of article 158 of the Swiss Code of Obligations.”
• Condition 2.4: “You understand that this deposit does not give you the direct right to purchase a Lyonheart® K motor car. It only gives you the opportunity to receive the purchase agreement from the Classic Cars factory for purchasing such a car.”
• Condition 24.1: “The Classic Cars Factory shall have the right to terminate the online preorder without any obligation to indemnify you, in the event of any conduct by you, which the factory, in its sole discretion, considers to be unacceptable and contrary to the spirit of these terms and conditions, or in the event of any breach by you of these terms and conditions.
This includes translating the words on their website to on-sell your preordered Lyonheart to any of the other 10 languages in South Africa.
• Condition 19.2: “You may not copy, modify, adapt, reproduce, translate, distribute, reverse engineer,
decompile or dissemble the intellectual property right or any aspect of the website that Classic Cars Factory, its subsidiaries, affiliates or suppliers own.”
decompile or dissemble the intellectual property right or any aspect of the website that Classic Cars Factory, its subsidiaries, affiliates or suppliers own.”
