The story of Akira and Solana
Back in the Mid 80s, Akira was looking to enter the premium car market. Akira cars, while dependable and and well built, did not appeal to buyers looking for premium/upmarket vehicles. Around the same time, premium car maker Solana was performing poorly and was close to bankruptcy. Akira saw this as an opportunity to break in to the premium/luxury car market, and purchased the Solana brand, factories and patents.
Because the Solana cars were expensive to produce and not selling well, Akira scrapped production of all Solana models, and instead took existing Akira models, modified them to have premium interiors and technologies, and sold them under the “Solana” brand. The cars would remain mechanically, and, save for some slight exterior modifications, visually almost identical.
This strategy seemed to attract some premium buyers, particularly existing Akira buyers that were buying up. While the Solana models were selling in acceptable quantities, it was determined that premium buyers were put off by Solana branded cars just being rebadged Akiras with leather wrapped interiors. Akira had also started to make the shift to make their regular models more premium, thus negating the need for the Solana brand. Akira decided to retire the Solana brand after 2006, and instead, turn “Solana” in to the designation for the most luxurious trim of a given model, but this strategy did not seem to help sales in the premium segment either. The “Solana” name disappeared altogether in 2008.
In 2015, Akira announced that it had created a semi-independent subsidiary to design and build cars for the Premium and Luxury segment. “Akira-Solana” was born, and they would use existing Akira technology, engines etc., but have complete control over the design, manufacturing and sales of vehicles. These cars will be sold under the Akira brand, and will be sold at Akira Dealerships. Buyers would get unique experiences, with some dealerships even having separate sections set out just for the premium cars.
The first Akira-Solana car was unveiled in 2019 for the 2020 model year:
Akira-Solana G3
The first car to come out of the new venture is the G3. The G3 comes with trim levels. The entry level “G3E”, and mid-range “G3S”, both come with a 2.0l turbo inline 4, making 160kw or 220kw respectively. The top of the range “G3 Pro” (Pictured here). The G3 Pro comes with a 3.2l twin turbo V6, producing 352kw (472hp/478PS).
All models are RWD as standard, and AWD is available as an option on the Pro trim in all countries. AWD is available as an option in select countries on the G3S trim. G3E and G3S models have an 8 speed Automatic while the G3 Pro has a 7 Speed Dual Clutch.