Laraki Automobiles SA is a Moroccan manufacturer of high-performance
sports cars
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
based in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Morocco.
History
Laraki was established in 1999 by Abdesslam Laraki, a Moroccan designer and entrepreneur who first became wealthy by importing cars in Morocco beginning in 1973. His son and the current owner of the firm is
Abdeslam Laraki, a Moroccan designer who started out creating luxurious yachts and created the eponym company Laraki. Then following the steps of his father, he studied automobile design in Switzerland and soon after launched his first model, the Laraki Fulgura, in 2002.
![V12-EricVanHove](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/V12-EricVanHove.jpg)
In 2012, the conceptual artist
Eric Van Hove
Éric Van Hove (born 1975 in Guelma, Algeria) is a Cameroon-raised Belgian metamodern conceptual artist. He lives and works between Brussels and Marrakech. He is the grandson of Louis Van Hove, co-founder and CEO of the Structures Group, the la ...
arrived in
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
to resume work on an ambitious sculptural endeavor he had prepared for years: ''V12 Laraki''. In the space of nine months, he gathered around him 42 master craftsmen from the region and began rebuilding a Mercedes 6.2 L V12 engine using rural materials and centuries old craft techniques from the North African country. Conceptually, this sculpture is based on the story of the Laraki Fulgura, which was entirely manufactured in Morocco to the exception of its engine. The artist decided to try and reproduce that cutting-edge component locally using craft That sculpture was displayed at the 5th
Marrakech Biennale and soon acquired by the
Hood Museum of Art
The Hood Museum of Art is owned and operated by Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth dates to 1772, making the collection among the o ...
.
The technical director is Peter Tutzer, previously from
Bugatti
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...
.
Models
Fulgura
The Laraki Fulgura is the company's first attempt at a sports car. Originally unveiled as a concept at the 2002
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
,
a proposed production version debuted a year later at the same show. A slightly redesigned version of the bodywork was unveiled in 2005.
Based on the frame and mechanicals of a
Lamborghini Diablo
The Lamborghini Diablo is a high-performance mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It is the first production Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of . After the end ...
,
the Fulgura is equipped with a quad-turbo
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
6.0 L V12, initially proposed to produce , attached to a 6-speed manual transmission. A new aerodynamic
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
body is also added. This brings the Fulgura to an estimated price of $555,750. Performance for the Fulgura is an estimated top speed of and acceleration of 0 – in 3.3 seconds. By 2006, these figures were amended and the 6.0 L V12 was proposed to produce , and mated to a 7-speed gearbox and a top speed of and 0–100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. Also cheaper V8 version of the Fulgara has 5.4 L supercharged
M113 engine which produses 570 hp.
Borac
![Borac Laraki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Borac_Laraki.jpg)
The Laraki Borac is the company's second model, and debuted as a concept at the
2005 Geneva Motor Show.
The car was originally planned for production by 2011, but a final design was never unveiled.
The design of the Borac is that of a
grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either ...
, with a front engine layout and even the possibility of two small rear seats. The Borac is not based on an existing design, unlike the Fulgura. A
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
6.0 L V12 powers the Borac, although it lacks the turbocharging of the Fulgura. This results in a proposed output of , producing a top speed of and acceleration from 0 - 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.
Epitome
The Laraki Epitome was unveiled at the
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the pinnacle event of its kind and one of the most prestigious car events in ...
in 2013.
Nine cars of this model are planned to be built.
Fitted with the V8 engine of a C6
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...
, Laraki added twin turbochargers to the already powerful engine. Fueled by 91-octane gasoline fuel, the Epitome can produce 1,200
Horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
. Additionally it has a second fuel tank that can be filled with 110-octane gasoline fuel, which can up it to 1,750
Horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
. The body is made of carbon fiber. The car weighs 2,800 pounds.
The Epitome made the headlines: With a $2 million price tag, it was dubbed the most expensive car on the market. Hip-hop artist
French Montana
Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...
bought one of the 9 models planned for production.
References
External links
*
Official website
{{-
Car manufacturers of Morocco
Sports car manufacturers
Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers
Companies based in Casablanca
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999
1999 establishments in Morocco
Moroccan brands