Jay Leno reviews the American Deronda

Crazyjeeper said:
I'm going to make baseless accusations too.

You don't have an avatar, your opinion on everything is irrelevant. :rolleyes:
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Hey! I resemble that remark! Guess I gotta go find one now so I'm not lumped in with that intelligent fellow. :p

On Topic: That car just looks a little off, the wheels and struts/suspension seem too small with that long of a nose. It could just be the angle on that second picture that is making it look that way though.
 
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Meio said:
What you mean rather than buying the rights to British designs and sticking an American engine in there?...

No wait...
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The fact is, the British Deronda with the Audi engine was said to be a truly awful car. So it's likely that there were changes other than just a V8 replacing the weak 4-cylinder.
 
I thought I would try to respond to several questions/comments about the Deronda:

Why use the GM V8? - We were planning on using the original Audi/VW/Cosworth drivetrain. However; after several meetings and discussions with Mahle (formerly Cosworth Performance), VW North America and several well known VW/Audi tuners it became apparent that a consistent and reliable source of engines was not available. Since we have racing experience with the GM LS series engines we decided to redesign the chassis to accept the LS V8 and G50 Porsche gearbox. Both have proven to be very reliable, are cost effective, deliver good performance and are readily available. Importing engines is not a viable option here in the US.

Chassis/Suspension - the chassis and suspension have been completely redesigned from the original. This was done in part to accept the GM/Porsche drivetrain and also due to some of the original design issues. The wheelbase was stretched 8 inches and the suspension was completely redesigned using corvette C5 uprights on all 4 corners. The use of the corvette uprights also provided us with the option of using GM wheel sensors and traction/launch control. These uprights are proven and are also readily available. I will say that the original EVO test drive article (mentioned in an earlier post) was somewhat unfair to the Deronda. Andy Round from the UK who originally designed the car was contacted by EVO for a test drive. Andy, being a business man took EVO up on their offer. The car had just been completed but unfortunately had not been fully sorted. A more accurate and fair test drive article was done later that year by Pistonheads.

Body design - We tried to stay as true as possible to the original UK design. The result has been a car that is one of the most "polarizing" cars I've ever been associated with. You either like it or you don't...there is no in between. In a world where many cars look the same I think it is OK to be a bit different. I will say that some of the pictures (two of which are in an earlier post) are not flattering. There are angles of the car that when photographed look out of proportion. Many people who did not like the car from photos do like the car in person. I agree that the rear view needs to be cleaned up a bit. That is something we will work on.

Our overall design principle/goal was to bring to market a car that could perform well, be reliable and functional both on the road and the track. It also needed to be cost effective to maintain. We have accomplished all of our goals with the Deronda. You may not like the look but after you drive one you will quickly realize the potential this car has.

I will be happy to respond to any additional comments/questions about the Deronda.
 
I didn't realize you guys were in Vernon Hills (my parents live in Mundelein). Jay made it sound like you were in Detroit, not Chicago. Do the cars get put together there as well? Are you guys open to visitors?
 
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bartboy9891 said:
The fact is, the British Deronda with the Audi engine was said to be a truly awful car. So it's likely that there were changes other than just a V8 replacing the weak 4-cylinder.
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The point is: for a country with 300 million people and such an automotive culture there seem to be so few crazed performance cars that half of those you hear about seem to be re-heated British left-overs.
There are a couple of crazed designs that buck the trend though, like the Scorpion Prodigy P6 or the RCR Superlite Roadster (even though they are a bit 'behind the curve').
 
Meio said:
The point is: for a country with 300 million people and such an automotive culture there seem to be so few crazed performance cars that half of those you hear about seem to be re-heated British left-overs.
There are a couple of crazed designs that buck the trend though, like the Scorpion Prodigy P6 or the RCR Superlite Roadster (even though they are a bit 'behind the curve').
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Forgetting Panoz, Callaway, Carroll Shelby Intl. (sans Cobra), Saleen, and, oh, yeah, Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Carroll), maker of the fastest production car in the world, are we?
 
Jay is correct, the cars are built just outside of Detroit in Trenton Michigan. I am the distributor for the Deronda and my office is in Vernon Hills. The Trenton facility is open to visitors. If interested contact me and I will arrange a tour.
 
Spectre said:
Forgetting Panoz, Callaway, Carroll Shelby Intl. (sans Cobra), Saleen, and, oh, yeah, Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Carroll), maker of the fastest production car in the world, are we?
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Nope. Remember that I said "crazed".

Ah sod it, I might as well take each one apart:-

Panoz: The Roadster is a re-heated Irish design; and the Esperante GTR-1 is a Reynard creation. The road going Esperante is far from crazed.
Callaway: Tuning shop - 'nuff said.
Carroll Shelby: 'nother tuning shop.
Saleen: Tuning shop and manufacturer of one of the most standard configuration, and hence not "crazed", supercars ever (and we'll ignore the input of RML).
SSC: Yawn... I said "crazed" not "oh look we can put 1000hp+ engine in a quite heavy, standard configuration supercar and go nearly 260mph on some salt flats somewhere"
 
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Meio said:
The point is: for a country with 300 million people and such an automotive culture there seem to be so few crazed performance cars that half of those you hear about seem to be re-heated British left-overs.
There are a couple of crazed designs that buck the trend though, like the Scorpion Prodigy P6 or the RCR Superlite Roadster (even though they are a bit 'behind the curve').
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Spectre said:
Forgetting Panoz, Callaway, Carroll Shelby Intl. (sans Cobra), Saleen, and, oh, yeah, Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Carroll), maker of the fastest production car in the world, are we?
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You both forgot Mosler.
 
Meio said:
The point is: for a country with 300 million people and such an automotive culture there seem to be so few crazed performance cars that half of those you hear about seem to be re-heated British left-overs.
There are a couple of crazed designs that buck the trend though, like the Scorpion Prodigy P6 or the RCR Superlite Roadster (even though they are a bit 'behind the curve').
Click to expand...

Spectre said:
Forgetting Panoz, Callaway, Carroll Shelby Intl. (sans Cobra), Saleen, and, oh, yeah, Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Carroll), maker of the fastest production car in the world, are we?
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Lupin_IV said:
You both forgot Mosler.
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All three of you may have forgotten Factory Five Racing. Other than the standard Cobra replica they have the hardcore GTM. And there's also Superperformance, which sells the awesome Brock Coupe that's a Daytona Coupe replica.
 
argatoga said:
Define "crazed".
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When people look at it and say "What the fuck?". When the designers have been thinking 'outside the box'.

Lupin_IV said:
You both forgot Mosler.
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I didn't.

bartboy9891 said:
All three of you may have forgotten Factory Five Racing. Other than the standard Cobra replica they have the hardcore GTM. And there's also Superperformance, which sells the awesome Brock Coupe that's a Daytona Coupe replica.
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Hmm, the FF GTM is far from crazed: a steel spaceframe with GRP bodywork and Corvette bits made to look a bit like a GT-40. Also, with respect to Superperformance, any replica or continuation product is by definition is not a "crazed" design surely.
 
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You must really love those beanies with the propellers on top.
 
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