Cautious skepticism is the most sensible reaction to the Revenge Verde Supercar, which made its first public appearance at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. Can this car be for real? Probably not. That's too bad given the potential evident in the Detroit show car, but there is simply no substantial evidence indicating that the Verde has a legitimate future.
Admittedly, it's no small task for a small, independent company to display a vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show. The ambitious act of brining the Verde to Detroit, though, is not enough to prove that Revenge's future is secure. After all, there have been countless other supposed supercar builders that have failed to deliver on their promises of providing world-class performance.
Revenge claims that its Verde Supercar, with its painfully obvious name, will be 'the worlds sic first guilt free mid engine Supercar.' It's perfectly reasonable for a company busy building a high-performance road rocket to forget an apostrophe in its official literature, but how reasonable is it for that same company to forget about the Tesla Roadster? The Tesla, whose existence can't be denied by even the most stubborn conspiracy theorists, is a real supercar powered by a real electric motor mounted amidships. Its combined gas mileage rating of infinity is tough to beat. The 'guilt free' line in Revenge's sales pitch is also tough to swallow when looking at the car's available engine options. To live up to the vehicle's shocking green paint and Verde title (which translates to 'green'), Revenge claims its Supercar will be available with a hybrid gas/electric engine capable of 400hp on E85 fuel. With estimated fuel mileage surpassing 100mpg, this power plant sounds too good to be true—and it probably is. The hybrid powertrain would be produced by HP2g, a company just as mysterious, unproven, and suspicious as Revenge. The other two engine options are as far from green as red. They are GM's LS9 with 638hp and a reworked-by-Roush Ford V8 good for 605hp.
The company behind the Revenge Verde Supercar is Revenge Designs Inc. Founded by Peter Collorafi, Revenge Designs is based in Indiana and produces styling modifications for the Pontiac Solstice, Pontiac GTO, and Honda Ridgeline. The firm's products are well-designed, but the ability to create upgraded side mirrors and deck spoilers does not suggest the ability to create a full-fledged supercar with a 200mph top speed. The company does not provide any detailed information on how it plans to produce the Verde. This makes their claim that the Verde will be available to paying customers later this year a particularly mysterious and questionable statement.
Even if Revenge could successfully produce its Verde Supercar, who would buy it? The average consumer of a $190,000 automobile doesn't have to worry too much about rising fuel costs. A customer hoping to project the image of a concerned tree-hugger could do better with a Toyota Prius. And for anyone who honestly and sincerely feels guilty polluting the Earth with that barbaric and filthy internal combustion engine, there is the electric Tesla (never mind that the plurality of U.S. electricity is produced by burning coal). Still, it would be great to see an innovative American sports car from a small and independent maker succeed. With its promises of unique styling and great performance, the Verde could surely find its way into the hands of at least a few happy buyers. But will the Verde even be able to find its way into production?
Sources:
HP2g Web. 26 Jan 2010. http://www.hp2g.com/.
Korzeniewsky, Jeremy. 'Detroit 2010: Revenge Verde Supercar adds mean to its green.' AutoBlog.com (2010): n. pag. Web. 26 Jan 2010. http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/12/detroit-2010-revenge-verde-supercar-adds-mean-to-its-green/.
'Revenge: New Technology, New Design.' Revenge Designs Inc. Web. 26 Jan 2010. http://www.revengedesignsinc.com/weekly_news.html.
by Evan Acuña