The Akylone, a tale of French ambition

Posted by John Mellberg March 25, 2021

The Akylone, a tale of French ambition

The Akylone is a project of Genty Automotive, a French firm that specializes in the design and production of performance cars. The intent behind the Akylone is to create a rival to contemporary hypercars from companies like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bugatti.

The project began in the early 2010's and was first shown in "virtual form" in 2013. The design of the Akylone features a swooping hood with strong creases, big headlamps with daytime running lamps, a huge rear diffuser, and a strong roofline and side-view. The car also features a pair of scissor doors for entry and egress. Genty uses lots of expensive materials in the Akylone's body, including carbon-fiber and aluminum.

The Akylone, in 3D CG

A major element of the interior is a huge display in the middle of the dashboard, which is touch-sensitive, and a console behind the steering wheel that displays information from different driving modes. It is plush and appears to use high quality materials.

The Akylone will be powered by a twin turbo, 6.0-liter, V-8 engine that produces more than 1,200 horsepower and 861 pound-feet of torque. Power goes to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox that also features paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The car weighs just 2,429 pounds (1,100 kg) in a 42-to-58 front-to-rear ratio. That's near perfect for a car of this type and should make for sure footed handling.

The Akylone, pre-production chassis

Genty is targeting a 0-to-62-mph sprint of only 2.7 seconds and an estimated top speed of 220 mph. With the Akylone's relatively low weight, these goals are likely quite reasonable.
The model will be quite exclusive, with only 15 coupe versions and 10 roadsters planned for production. Although no firm pricing information is available, the car's unit cost is likely to be in excess of $400,000.

Genty is currently in the process of building a preproduction prototype, having shown; virtual images rendered in 3D, a full-size concept model, and a rolling chassis.

Many would-be supercar makes create a big splash and then vanish into thin air, sometimes resurfacing in a new guise. The Akylone's most recent public showing was in early 2020, prior to the Covid 19 pandemic. Recent news has been scant.

Still, it will be interesting to see how this audacious endeavor turns out. Stay tuned.

The Akylone, prototype

The Numbers

Engine:
Engine location:
Displacement
Turbocharging
Output:
Torque:
Top speed:
0-62mph:
0-124mph:
0-186mph:
Standing ¼ mile:
Standing Kilometer:

Twin-Turbo V-8
Middle-Mounted, Longitudinal
366 Cubic Inches
2 turbos
1,200 HP @ 7,300 rpm
861 lb.-ft. @ 7000 rpm)
220 MPH
2.7 Seconds
7.2 Seconds
14 Seconds
9.8 seconds
16.6 Seconds