#Detroit 2017 - [color=lightblue]Erin[/color] and Erin[color=turquoise]Sport[/color]
It’s a little past 1pm and the Erin keynote has just started. Head of Marketing Julia Neath walks on stage as Panic in Detroit plays - “Hello Detroit, it’s a pleasure to be here”.
Naturally, the first 10 minutes are spent going over marketing gabble, including a showing-off of the new ‘retro themed’ ErinSport logo and the annual “look at how good our American dealerships are doing!” section which drew absolutely no reaction from the crowd. But, eventually, she got onto the interesting stuff.
#2017 Erin Visto (Mk 5)
“We’re proud to reveal the most advanced supermini Erin has ever made”.
The new Erin Visto is the most innovative version of the car to date. In a similar way to how the Tauga’s sedan and coupe version’s are developed, the 3 door and 5 door version of the Visto were split off to be designed separately.
Chief Design Stephen Riley comes on stage to discuss this further.
"We really wanted to introduce some sporty lines to the 3 door version of the Visto, so we had the idea to emphasis this with coupe styling, and hence it became known as the Coupe.
"As for the 5 Door, we’re introducing a suicide door setup on the car to make accessing the rear of the car very easy, and to greatly increase practicality.
"We’ve also made a major innovation with the Visto - it’s our first supermini ever to be made from Aluminium. Continuing the progress we’ve made to make aluminium bodied cars affordable since we launched the Mk 1 Tauga, the aluminium body on the Visto ensures low weight, good performance and great fuel economy.
"Engine wise, the Visto will be using variants of our successful Pureron 1.4l range, as well as the Pureon 1.0l TDi found in the Bino. On the entry-level S trim, this engine allows this car to average 60 plus mpg, despite it being a petrol powered car.
[hide=Engine stats]
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Pureon 1.0l TDi TwinC
87hp @ 7100rpm / 85ft-lb @ 4600rpm / Reliability: 73.3 / Smoothness: 66.4 -
Pureon 1.2l TDi TwinC
95hp @ 6600rpm / 100ft-lb @ 4600rpm / Reliability: 80.1 / Smoothness: 69.7 -
Pureon 1.4l Di TwinC
118hp @ 7700rpm / 105ft-lb @ 4600rpm / Reliability: 77.9 / Smoothness: 67.6
[/hide]
“A full press release of the final version of the car is scheduled for the end of February, once final testing is complete”.
“Thanks Stephen. Next up, we’re moving on to hot-hatches” says Julia.
“We launched the Merna X-Eco last year to show that hot-hatches needn’t be expensive to run or hard to own. Today, we’re showing just how incredible a hot-hatch can be.”
#2017 Erin Merna X-AllDrive
The new poster for the car appears on screen, and onto stage rolls the car itself.
"It’s been a while since we made what we’d call a proper hot-hatch. The X-AllDrive trades comfort and luxuries for sharp driving characteristics and incredible performance.
"The interior went under some major weight saving, including making it a 4 seater, using lightweight materials for the dashboard and saving on extra features. We think it’s an acceptable swap considering how this thing drives.
"A whole load of aero work was done with this car, including an all new body kit, semi-clad undertray and even a dinky boot spoiler.
“To talk about the key aspect of this car, the performance, we have chief engineer Adrian Cole”
"Thanks Julia. Powering the X-AllDrive is a tuned variant of the Pureon 2.0l i4 engine, turbocharged and fitted with performance parts to squeeze 292 hp. It sends that to all 4 wheels via a 6 speed manual and two limited slip diffs. This ensures superb acceleration and low wheel spin - it’ll do 0-60 in 4.9 seconds and top out at 158 mph.
"Suspension wise, this is a very simple car - classic, analogue performance parts, nothing electronic or adjustable. It gives the car a very connected feel when you’re driving it.
A full release of the car, with complete specs, will be coming soon. Prices will start at £27860.
Back at the Erin booth, Erin[color=turquoise]Sport[/color] are kicking off the year with both a new logo and by showing off their long overdue return to GT racing in the form of the Scarlet GT. More specifically, this is the new GTE-17 variant, which will, eventually, be competing in AMWEC.
Specs are being kept an absolute secret, but there’s no denying how keen ErinSport are to show this car off. Afterall, it’s been some 15 years since the previous Scarlet GT crossed the finish line for the last time.
On the screen’s behind the car, an early mock-up of the livery can be seen.
Asked whether any of this racing development may end up on road-going versions of the Scarlet, one of the engineers said “Quite possibly, but certainly not for a while yet. We’ve got other things to be getting on with first.”
While all of this has been going on, spyshots of what appears to be a new Erin prototype racer were posted by numerous automotive publications.
Taken by an anonymous reporter at Erin’s X Department R&D Centre in Ashbourne, Debryshire, the blurry pictures seem to confirm what’s long been rumored to be a return to Prototype racing for Erin, which would almost certainly see this mystery car at competing in the top class at AMWEC next season.