Lore
Munot’s launch of the 4th generation of Munot cars in North America was more successful than any previous generation in this region, and resulted plenty of cashflow to fund the expansion of Munot’s product line globally. One of these projects was the Levant.
The Levant was born from a couple of separate, but converging projects from earlier in the decade. The first one was born from an internal study conducted by a special group of Munot’s R&D division, attempting to identify new trends and untapped markets. They concluded that the market had become largely devoid of true spyders/roadsters, especially ones in reach of consumers (as opposed to aspirational models), and especially in North America. This led to a concept of a ~1-tonne, agile RWD/Kvadrat AWD spyder that used a simplified interior and design to keep costs down.
The second project was a lightweight, maneuverable sportscar for competing in Group S rallying, using an aluminum body and Munot’s Zweicam turbo I5. With the demise of Group S though, this line of development was frozen and eventually rolled into the roadster effort.
With the combination of the two projects, the concept grew in weight and further evolved, becoming a sportcar, a performance-oriented roadster that could compete with the sportscars in its price bracket. Sales of sportscars over the past several years, such as the explosive introduction of the Lynx or the rise of the RX-7, suggested that this was a rapidly expanding market in NA, and Munot hoped to get sportscars drivers to cross shop this concept in addition to those in the market for roadsters. Using their experience with aluminum bodies, a partial aluminum construction was used for the first time in a Munot mass production car, to keep weight at a manageable 1.2 tonnes. Munot’s long-standing turbo 2.1L I5, which in 87 had received a slight increase in stroke with the demise of Group B/Group S displacement rules, was chosen as the powerplant - now with Munot’s newly developed KRONOS VVT system, and of course the trademark Kvadrat AWD system was also built in. Finally, following the aerodynamic trend of all 4th Gen Munots, it received sharp shaping, with a drag coefficient of only 0.34 when fully equipped. This became the Levant GS Turbo - GS honoring its Group S origins - the most powerful Levant model, and back-designed from it, a range of cheaper naturally aspirated I5 models. The name Levant was picked from a competition won by Munot’s Basel office, referencing the easterly wind that typically brings good, gentle weather, along with the “exotic” Near Eastern region that is the home of civilization.
Aside from the body and aluminum-headed engine, the Levant’s cabin featured a number of innovative solutions to keep weight down - such as more expensive high-strength alloys. The interior was well furnished, giving a luxurious premium feel similar to the rest of Munot’s lineup - including the trademark “fighter cockpit” found on every 4th Gen, a reference to Munot’s factories in Emmen (the heart of Swiss aerospace). However, to keep costs down, a simpler sound system and stereo was provided, which also had the added benefit of keep the car agile and light. ABS mated to a viscous LSD - the first Munot to use one along with the Drache sedan - was included to improve driving characteristics, giving it an advantage over open diff cars, while being cheaper and slightly softer than the mechanical LSDs used on other Munot vehicles. Being a sportscar, no limiters were used either. Overall, the goal was not only to provide a car that was agile and fast, but also keep it more comfortable than your average performance-only car for everyday and long-distance driving…and promote the rest of Munot’s products.
Standard equipment on the Levant included cruise control, heated and powered ergonomic seats, tinted windows, automatic AC, and a five-speed manual. Additionally, on the GS Turbo, the Auto Information Computer, courtesy lights, and a passenger airbag was standard (all extra-cost options for other models). Optional features on all makes included an anti-theft system, a CD player, a hardtop to replace the soft-top, and the Helvetronic 4-speed automatic gearbox. All the standard colors were available for the Levant, with black being popular; for an extra cost a customer could order a white Levant with a black-painted bonnet.
This GS Turbo is a good representation of the Levant series as a whole, especially since it was the predecessor of the rest. It was supposed to outperform cars cheaper than it and out-price cars that were more expensive. Coming in at $27,700 base, the MSRP placed it firmly in the range of the Japanese import turbos, like the legendary RX-7, 300ZX, and MR2 turbo models, and also gave consumers a more accessible European option compared to Porsche among the sea of import/domestic cars. With its turbo I5 producing over 200 hp and a lack of wheelspin thanks to the Kvadrat drive, it managed to hit 100 km/h in under 6 seconds, outperforming on paper the cheaper MR2 and even the similarly priced RX-7, and keeping pace with the more expensive 300ZX, Corvette, and 944 Turbo (though the last one was admittedly more luxurious). Some cars could beat it in a straight line, like the Lynx L32 that Munot engineers respected, but they tended to be significantly more expensive - this car in particular was nearly twice the MSRP of the Levant GS Turbo - and Munot believed that their careful aerodynamics and tuning gave it agility that would be hard to beat, all while remaining fun and comfortable to drive.
Sales-wise, market research suggested a target of up to 10,000 cars (all models, with a few thousand being GS Turbos) per year in North America, and production rates could be adjusted via shift scheduling in either direction to match demand, so the company was cautiously optimistic about the fate of the Levant. The engineers believed they created a solid new, affordable addition that still honored Munot’s heritage and style. Production of this first generation Levant continued until '99, and the name/concept lives on to this day, with the GS Turbo always being a turbo I5 (though turbo I4s have taken over the rest of the line).
With the launch of the Levant in 1989, the first Munot car to be primarily marketed to North America, it was now up to the market to decide how it was received.
