The Lykan Hypersport is the third most expensive car in the world. And with features like diamond-incrusted LED headlights and gold stitching in the interior, it is easy to see why the first Arab luxury sports car comes with a $3.4 million price tag.
But Ralph Debbas, CEO and chairman of W Motors, the manufacturer of the Lykan Hypersport, insists that the car is more than its flashy add-ons.
“To be honest, it was completely pointless to put diamonds in the head lights. It is just a nice gimmick for people to talk about,” says Debbas. "But, whenever people first see the car, the first thing they do is check the headlights."
Other attention-grabbing items on the luxury sports car include reverse doors and a flying 3D hologram that responds to gestures.
However, with a twin turbo flat-six 3.7-liter engine with 770 horsepower that boasts speeds of 385 km/h, it is clear that Debbas means business when it comes to the power and speed of the car.
”We had a product that was up to the standard we wanted. To be honest, it was better than we expected. It was mind-blowing,” Debbas says. “We created world records on the YAS Marina Formula 1 Racetrack.”
While he has been working on this project since 2008, Debbas admits that it was a big break for the car to be featured in the latest Fast and Furious movie, saying that it was amazing to get that kind of exposure associated with a blockbuster Hollywood franchise. Filmed partially in Abu Dhabi, the movie will be hitting theaters internationally this April.
However, Debbas almost missed his Hollywood break, as W Motors was inundated with requests for their Lykan Hypersport and the team had been told to ignore all queries.
“I had told my guys to just ignore all the requests for the car to be in movies,” Debbas says, who hails from Lebanon. “[When Universal called me directly] they said they had been trying to get in touch with us and that they worked closely with a movie that is going to be filmed in Abu Dhabi. I thought, 'Ok, this is interesting.'”
Still not sure which movie Universal was interested in featuring the Lykan Hypersport in, the Lebanese entrepreneur figured it out when the producers’ names were copied in an email.
“I thought it was a good coincidence,” Debbas says. “I suggested that they come to where our factory is in Italy so that we could meet face to face to discuss, to see if it was a joke. Already, it seemed too good to be true.”
Although Universal originally wanted 19 cars for the movie, Debbas negotiated them down to 10. Of those 10 cars produced for the movie, only one still exists. Debbas admits that more Lykan Hypersports have been destroyed in the making of "Furious 7" than exist now in the world.
As for the seven that were manufactured for sale, four have already been pre-sold, with two going to buyers in China, one to the United States and one to the Emirates. In addition to a dealership in Dubai, there will be a dealerships in Miami, Shanghai and Singapore.
“I know a lot of people who create fantastic cars but no one has heard of them. Because they didn’t play it in the same direction that we did,” says Debbas. “Putting a car at $3.4 million is definitely going to get a buzz. People are going to talk about it. If you put a car at half a million or $250,000, no one will talk about it. They will go to the manufacturers that are existing on the market and they will forget about you”
However, the entrepreneur admits that the spotlight comes with some disadvantages.
“Everybody is just waiting for you to make just one mistake. We have to be very diligent. We are representing the Arab world in this field,” says Debbas. Although it is technically a Lebanese company, W Motors is now based in Dubai. “It is a tough job to keep it up.”
Interested in the Lykan Hypersport but don’t have an extra $3.4 million? Don’t worry. This September, W Motors will unveil the Lykan Supersport at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
“It is a new model, a new design, much cheaper than the Lykan Hypersport,” says Debbas. “It is less exclusive, less luxurious and yet more powerful.”
The “more accessible” car will be sold for $1.6 million, with only 25 cars being available each year.
We might have to wait a few years for that one.