A decade ago, Ferris Rezvani launched a company bearing his name and introduced the world to the Beast. Now, the company is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a second-generation model that transforms the series, or to be more precise, GM’s Corvette C8, into a hypercar-rivaling powerhouse – even if Rezvani masterfully avoids saying so. The new model boasts a selection of features the company claims have never been seen in the segment.
While that’s a bold claim, let’s start with the more conventional details. The 2024 Rezvani Beast is essentially a re-skinned Corvette C8, powered by a tuned version of its mid-mounted 6.2-liter V8. With the help of a pair of turbochargers and some other bits, it generates up to 1,000 hp (746 kW/1,014 PS) in “Beast Mode”, or more than twice as much as the base C8.
Read: 2018 Rezvani Beast Alpha X Blackbird Named After The Legendary SR-71 Aircraft
The GM engine is connected to the wheels via an eight-speed DCT transaxle from Tremec that provides the car with lightning-fast gear changes, and a limited slip differential. Thanks to the quick shifts and the enormous amount of power, Rezvani claims that the Beast can accelerate to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds. Also helpful are the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires that are wrapped around the 20-inch wheels at the front and the 21-inch wheels at the back.
Take this as you will, but Rezvani claims that the lightweight carbon fiber body covering the C8 “is made with a special carbon fiber using high-temperature resins that are used in the latest generation of US fighter jets like the F-35.” Nevertheless, the Beast of a Corvette weighs just 2,980 lbs (1,352 kg), which enables it to run the quarter-mile in just 9.6 seconds.
Much like the exterior, the interior of the Beast is carried over from the Corvette C8, but heavily customized with bespoke upholstery, a revised lower center console that does away with the string of buttons, and a yoke steering wheel of sorts.
Bullet Proof And 007 Packages
So far, that’s all pretty standard stuff, and its design (though attractive) won’t exactly rock the segment, as you can see in the video below. However, Rezvani claims that its optional packages are what really make the new Beast like no other vehicle in the segment.
The $55,000 Bullet Proof Package adds bulletproof glass and body panels to the vehicle (no word on how much weight that adds), and if you want to really feel like a spy, you can opt for the $45,000 ‘007’ Package.
It adds unusual extras like strobe lights, sirens and horns, an intercom system, a first aid and a hypothermia kit, run flat tires, gas masks, and a thermal night vision system. It also adds some features we’re surprised are legal on a vehicle. These include a pepper spray dispenser, a smoke screen, electrified door handles, “blinding lights,” EMP pulse protection, magnetic deadbolts, and explosive device detection.
“We are all kids at heart and we grew up watching Knight Rider and James Bond so we had to offer these same features in a real car,” said Rezvani.
If you’re the same kind of childish as the Rezvani, the coach-builder plans to produce just 20 examples of the hypercar and they all come with a starting price of $485,000 or about seven times the cost of a base Corvette C8. You can configure yours on the company’s website.