Did you know there was a branch of Texas A&M in Qatar? I had no idea. I also didn’t realize they were working on a new sportscar, which is called Elibreia, and was just unveiled at the Falit Qatar Motor Show. It’s an impressive university project, no doubt, but I think I may have liked it better with the sheet on.
I know concept cars and University-run projects are all about taking risks and trying new things, but the styling of the Elibreia is kind of a terrifying, golden mess. Here, look:
Oh boy.
Our pals over at ArabGT sent us the pictures and a video, and tell us that the car has a GM V6 making 535HP, putting power to all the wheels, and the carbon fiber-bodied car weighs about 2000 lbs.
But, holy crap, is it ugly. There’s some interesting ideas in there, but the design is so overworked and busy it’s hard to see them. I’m guessing it’s mid-engined, and has the familiar mid-engine supercar proportions, but the riot of folds and angles and recessed shapes and massive origami’d flaps and spoilers makes the whole thing pretty hard to look at.
If a getting-up-there-in-years Transformer like Optimus Prime could get kidney stones, and then pass them, I think this is probably close to what they’d look like.
That undulating, wave-like streak/swoop along the sides of the car is completely at odds with everything else, too. There’s also that strange fish fin cut out of the doors that I’m really having trouble processing, too. I do sort of like the bold taillight design, though.
The designer says he’s working on another car, which I’m glad to hear. This is a remarkably impressive project for a college student, no matter what, but I’m hoping he’ll re-think some of the design ideas in the next go-round.
(Thanks, ArabGT!)
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.