As Toréer started gaining traction (pun intended) in the car world, it was only natural they’d end up as some other company’s tuning subdivision. The Hokuto-Toréer partnership was born of the Sommet’s potential, and out of the partnership came this badass sports sedan.
In the 1990 Levara, Toréer packed some extra ponies–53 over the stock HR-4, to be exact–thanks to a larger turbocharger, significantly more aggressive cams, and straight-through muffler. It also got stiffer, lower suspension, a revised gearbox, bigger, grippier tyres, bigger brakes, and a suspiciously absent front passenger seat, which paid off on the track. Toréer also fitted a custom bodykit, hood scoop, grille, 17 inch rims, and an exclusive black paintjob for cool factor. Overall, the Levara Toréer’s only drawbacks were its economy–losing 3 MPG across the board–and its production: only roughly 500 were built, due to Toréer’s relative size at this point. Despite its obscurity, the Levara Toréer sold well thanks to its performance per dollar, and it helped get Toréer on the map. If you’re looking for a badass, inconspicuous sedan to whoop your frenemy’s “trackday bro” compact any day of the week, you’ve come to the right car.
With a promise to fulfill, Toréer’s first foray into an unconventional drivetrain layout was the Sommet M-A (Moteur-Arrière) prototype, made with a modified 200S bodyshell and a new chassis with a rear-mounted, turbocharged flat six engine. With 241 hp on tap and a low compression ratio, it was far from efficient, returning a dismal 15.7 MPG under load in testing. However, the M-A was near-fatally fast, with a 0-60 time of 5.11 seconds (same as the production Sommet MK2!) and a top speed of 144 mph. It hugged the road like a bear, pulling a monstrous 1.18 on the 200m skidpad, and it had only 2.7 degrees of body roll. Despite all this, it was deemed too dangerous and inefficient for consumers who were probably expecting something less extreme from Toréer and was scrapped for the less barbaric MM (Mi-Moteur) prototype. Although the MM had more power, it was controlled better with the Sommet MM’s AWD system, which was additionally easier to develop with the mid-engined layout. Only one example is known to exist and is currently in the possession of Toréer.
For most, the current Sommet was a gimmick. Even though it handled well, it was underpowered and slightly overpriced considering its relatively lackluster straight-line performance. To combat this mediocrity, Toréer developed a top-of-the-line, high-performance, no-holds-barred variant to take the Sommet platform to its highest potential. Giant vents, futuristic LED headlights, a brand-spanking new, larger inline 6 for extra power, all wheel drive, a single seat, as well as a boatload of downforce complete its balls-to-the-walls-ethos. All this extra kit as well as weight reduction put the Ultra on pace amidst supercars with nearly twice the power around several tracks, and with a price tag under the 280TS, it was a hard offer to refuse.
Interested in making a name for themselves, Toréer produced a low-volume car specifically for GTE regulations, utilizing the VSX V8 that would eventually find its way into the Rivale. Slotting in nicely between the Rivale and the Venin, the Aurore excelled at lighting up the rear tyres while you sat, oblivious, in its comfortable seats. With plenty of ponies, good economy considering the circumstances, and enough room for the whole family, this is the French take on the muscle car.
The Aurore GTE was even crazier, with nigh on 620 horsepower on tap even with displacement reduced to fit with regulations. With great power comes great responsibility, however, so Toréer fit an offensively large wing, splitter, and diffuser for extra downforce, and as a result this baby produces 611 pounds of front and 398 pounds of rear downforce at top speed. Unsurprisingly, if so much as a pound more downforce were applied, the car would easily bottom out.
That’s because they tend to use really low downforce setups for those circuits, mainly in Spa. Most of the time and in most tracks GTE cars don’t even reach 150 mph because of their aerodynamic limitation.
I don’t see any problem with the Aurore’s top speed sitting in the mid 150s, I mean, it’s totally realistic.
With sales of their mid-engined cars slouching, Toréer was in for a change of image. While most thought of them as a luxury sports brand, Toréer was thinking of appealing to the all-out supercar crowd with their new EVO concept. Sporting a powerful and economical V6, DCT transmission, carbon fibre chassis, pushrod suspension, carbon ceramic brakes, and more high-end goodies as well as a traditional RWD setup made it the perfect enthusiast’s dream car. However, it was never produced outside of one prototype model, and its disappointing performance doomed its viability as a business venture for Toréer. Their plans for it to succeed the Aurore GTE were canned as well. They would stick with the steadfast Venin, Aurore, and Rivale for the forseeable future, but the EVO would remain a window into a future that could have been.
A 3.0L twin-turbo V6 is not what most people would expect to find in the engine bay of a supercar, but that’s exactly what the EVO 2020 had. And yet, with only 536 horsepower on tap, I don’t think it would have been fast enough. A bigger V6 (around 3.5-3.8L displacement) or better yet, a V8, V10 or V12 would have been more appropriate for it.
Exactly—Toréer were looking into making this a supercar you could track out like hell and simultaneously live with, but they leaned too far into efficiency with that tiny V6. Overall, it was a conflicted design, which lead to its demise.
