Marussia Motors (russian: Маруся ) was a Russian

sports car 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 ...

company founded in 2007. It was the first Russian company to produce a

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

. It designed, and manufactured prototypes of both the B1 and the B2 sport cars. Marussia was led by former motor racer

Nikolai Fomenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Fomenko (russian: Николай Владимирович Фоменко, born 30 April 1962) is a Russian musician, comic actor, professional motor racer, former president of Marussia Motors and former engineering direc ...

. The Marussia B1 was launched in December 2008 in the new Manege hall in Moscow. In 2010, it acquired a "significant stake" in the

Virgin Racing Virgin Racing (subsequently Marussia Virgin Racing) was a Formula One racing team which was under management of Manor Motorsport, Wirth Research and Richard Branson's Virgin Group and competed in with a British licence and in with a Russian ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team, which was later renamed

Marussia F1 The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian lice ...

. The team competed in F1 from to . In April 2014, the Marussia Motors company was disbanded, with staff leaving to join a government-run technical institute. The Marussia F1 team continued unaffected as a British entity, independent of the Russian car company. However, on 7 November 2014 the administrator announced that the F1 team had ceased trading.

Models

B1

The first

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and first car made by Marussia Motors. It has a

rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout In automotive design, an RMR, or rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. Nowa ...

. Marussia has announced they will build 2,999 examples of the car. The car has been produced at the Marussia Motors production facility in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, with the company's first showroom following in the city in September 2010. Structure is light and strong semi-monocoque and powered by Cosworth-built V6 engines developing between 300 and 420 bhp depending on the specification.

Specifications

Engine 1 - Marussia-Cosworth 2.8 litre Turbo *Placement: В Mid-Mounted *Volume: 2.8 litre Turbo *Max Power (hp): 360, 420 *Max Torque (Nm at RPM): 520 (600) / 4000 *Type: Petrol, Turbocharged V6 *Fuel: Sunoco *Lubricants:

Valvoline Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It also owns the Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second ...

Engine 2 - Marussia-Cosworth 3.5 litre *Placement: В Mid-Mounted *Volume: 3.5 litre *Max Power (hp): 300 *Max Torque (Nm at RPM): 410/4000 *Type: Petrol, Naturally-Aspirated V6 *Fuel: Sunoco *Lubricants:

Weight And Performance *Gross Vehicle Weight (kg): 1100 *Top Speed: 155 mph (250 kmh) *0-100 Acceleration (km/h): 3.8 sec (420 hp) Suspension *Type: Independent *Front: A-arm, "pushrod" scheme *Rear: A-arm, "pushrod" scheme *Hydraulic Booster: + *Discs: Ventilated *Brake Calipers: 4-piston *EBD: + Dimensions ( mm) *Length: 4635 mm *Width: 2000 mm *Height: 1100 mm *Width: 2680 mm Transmission *Drive: Rear-Wheel *Gearbox: 6-speed Automatic Tires *Type: Pirelli P-Zero Rosso/Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 *Front Size: 245/35/20 *Rear Size: 285/35/20 Fuel System *Tank Capacity (Litre) 80 *Fuel/Octane Number Petrol/95 Chassis *Type: Aluminum Semi-Monocoque

B2

The B2 features a more aggressive and "brutal" design and is available with the same engines as the B1. B2 was first shown to the public at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The list price of this model was about 100,000

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. A total of 500 units were scheduled to be sold out in 2012.

Specifications

Engine 1 - Marussia-Cosworth 2.8 litre Turbo *Placement: В Mid-mounted *Volume: 2.8 litre turbo *Max power (hp): 360, 420 *Max torque (Nm at RPM): 520 (600) / 4000 *Type: Petrol, Turbocharged V6 Engine 2 - Marussia-Cosworth 3.5 litre *Placement: В Mid-Mounted *Volume: 3.5 litre *Max Power (hp): 300 *Max Torque (Nm at RPM): 410/4000 *Type: Petrol, Naturally-Aspirated V6 Weight And Performance *Gross Vehicle Weight (kg): 1100 *Top Speed: 192 mph (310 kmh) *0-100 Acceleration (km/h): 3.8 sec (420 hp) Suspension *Type: Independent *Front: A-arm, "pushrod" scheme *Rear: A-arm, "pushrod" scheme *Hydraulic Booster: + *Discs: Ventilated *Brake Calipers: 4-piston *EBD: + Dimensions ( mm) *Length: 4635 *Width: 2000 *Height: 1100 *Width: 2680 Transmission *Drive: Rear-Wheel *Gearbox: 6-speed Automatic Tires *Type: Pirelli PZero Rosso *Front Size: 245/35/20 *Rear Size: 285/35/20 Fuel System *Tank Capacity (Litre) 80 *Fuel/Octane Number Petrol/95 Chassis *Type: Aluminum Semi-Monocoque

Marussia F2 SUV

The Marussia F2 is an

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

model. According to Marussia it can be used as a mobile command center, as a military vehicle or as an emergency vehicle. The prototype was shown on May 2, 2010. 300 units of the F2 were supposed to be made in 2012 by

Valmet Automotive Valmet Automotive (formerly known as Saab-Valmet) is a Finnish vehicle contract manufacturer and supplier for the development and production of battery systems as well as a supplier for roof and kinematic systems. In its development, the Valme ...

Body

The Marussia B1 and B2 models are based on the same semi-monocoque chassis with a steel spaceframe covered by carbon fibre panels - differing only in body shape.

Engine

Both Marussia sports models are mid-engined, with the engine mounted transversally on the back axle. The English company Cosworth supplies Marussia with two different V6 engines. One is a naturally aspirated 3.5 litre producing about 300 horsepower and the other is a 2.8 litre turbo-charged engine offered in 360 or 420 horsepower variants. The 420 horsepower engine allows Marussia cars to reach a claimed top speed of 250 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.

Transmission

The B1 and B2 use a six-speed automatic

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

. A six-speed manual gearbox allegedly was in development.

Safety and reliability

The energy-absorbing cockpit is a three part space frame of steel tubes of different sections. The front and rear subframes are attached to a central cell. In an impact, the subframes are designed to absorb energy by deforming. The B1 and В2 vehicles have passed Russian safety tests and obtained their certification.

Motorsport

Formula One

Marussia Motors managed their own factory works team after buying into a large stake of the

Formula One team. Later becoming

, the team competed between

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and part-through

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. In its first F1 season, it placed 11th in the Constructors' Championship, improving one position to 10th the following

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

. Thanks to Bianchi's exploits at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, the team won its first and only 2 points in F1. In 2014, the team participated until the

Russian Grand Prix The Russian Grand Prix (russian: Гран-при России, Gran-pri Rossii) was an annual motor racing event held at Sochi Autodrom – a permanent circuit built around the Olympic Park in Sochi – as part of the Formula One World Champion ...

, entering only one car driven by

Max Chilton Maximilian Alexander Chilton (born 21 April 1991) is a British racing driver who last competed for Carlin Motorsport in the IndyCar Series, before announcing his retirement from IndyCar in February 2022. Prior to IndyCar, he competed in Formula ...

in the team's final GP, due to the events at the previous

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...

where the team's lead driver,

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...

, was involved in a serious accident and suffered an ultimately fatal serious head injury. On 7 October 2014, after a short period under administration, the team ceased its operations and folded. The team's assets were sold at auction in December 2014.

Plans and prospects

Marussia Motors had stated that it was its intention to open at least two new showrooms in 2011, with

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

named as probable locations. The company wished to market its cars to large

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an countries and some in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and Australia within several years, with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to follow. Planned steps to support this included manufacturing vehicles in Western Europe and increasing its product range. Marussia Motors anticipated presenting 7 models at the 2011

Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...

that were to include a new

sports coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

, a luxury SUV, a luxury sedan, and a small city car. However, owing to their discontinuation in 2014, the projects never came to fruition.

In popular culture

The Marussia B2 appeared in the

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

s '' Need for Speed: World'', '' Need for Speed: Most Wanted'', ''

Need for Speed Rivals A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...

'', '' Driveclub'', '' Asphalt 7: Heat'' and '' Asphalt 8: Airborne''. The Marussia Formula One cars appeared in ''

F1 2012 The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internati ...

'', '' F1 2013'', ''

F1 2014 The 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 68th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 65th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, recognised by the sport's governing body, ...

'' and ''

F1 2015 The 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars. It was the 66th Formula One World Championship recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( ...

''.

References

* *

External links

*
The newest 2010 Marussia B2 blueprints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marussia Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Sports car manufacturers Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars of Russia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2007 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2014 Russian brands Car brands