Okay, so we wrote a nice review about the Arrinera Venocara
supercar hailing from Poland and we make the observation that this car
“looks a hell of a lot like a Lamborghini.” Apparently, the Polish media
thought the same, as Jacek Balkan outright accused Arrinera of building
this new supercar from a Lamborghini kit available through Polish kit
car manufacturer Bojar. Later, Arrinera’s CEO Lukasz Tomkiewicz
adamantly denied all accusations and even addressed the usage of an Audi
A6 C5 air conditioning panel and instrument cluster.
We can admit that the resemblance between the Lambo
and the Arrinera Venocara is striking, but the automotive world is
chock-full of copycats and information sharing, so it may just be
happenstance. We are not prepared to pass judgment until we put all
three of the vehicles in question, the Lamborghini Reventon, the Bojar El Toro Kit, and the Arrinera Venocara on trial in TopSpeed court.
We
will closely examine all of the evidence on each car and come to our
final ruling as to whether or not this truly is a slightly modified kit
car to help boost the blossoming company’s stock, or simply a case of
copycatting gone too far.
Click past the jump to view the entire TopSpeed trial…
Front End
Arrinera Venocara vs. Lamborghini Reventon:
The
first bit of evidence is the front clip. On the front end, there is no
mistaking the fact that the Arrinera is a blatant attempt to copy of the
Reventon. The hard arrow-like angles on the front bumper are a key
styling point of the Reventon, but the air ducts on each side of the
Reventon’s bumper are unique. The hood is not a knock off of the
Reventon, as it is pretty unique and completely reverse of the Reventon.
The
headlights, however, are just about as close as the Reventon’s
headlights as you can get without them being direct carbon copies. The
front turn signals are a direct rip off from the Reventon, as they are
positioned directly in front of the front wheels, just like the
Reventon, and are even in a similar shape.
Verdict: Guilty as charged, it is a direct rip off of the Reventon, plus it even has some touches of the Aventador and Gallardo in it.
Arrinera Venocara vs. Bojar El Toro Kit:
With
exception to the sloped nose, the Lambo-like shapes on either side of
the bumper and the positioning of the turn signal indicator, there are
few similarities between the kit and the Arrinera. The headlights are
100 percent reversed, and the hood is completely different.
Verdict: Innocent, the Arrinera may be a blatant Lambo rip off, but its front end is not from the Bojar El Toro kit car.
Side Profile
Arrinera Venocara vs. Lamborghini Reventon:
The
side-view mirrors on the Arrinera truly are unique, but the high
beltline is very similar to the Reventon, as are the rear brake cooling
ducts. The brake ducts are at least a little different, but that
beltline is identical, as it angles downward when it approaches the rear
wheel well.
The engine heat extractors on the top of the rear
quarter panels are not copied from the Reventon, but rather a direct
duplication from the Gallardo.
Verdict: Guilty as charged in blatantly ripping off Lamborghini’s side profile from both the Gallardo and the Reventon.
Arrinera Venocara vs. Bojar El Toro Kit:
With
the exception of scissor doors and there being a cooling duct in front
of the rear wheels — the Bojar El Toro Kit’s ducts are fake though —
there are zero side-profile similarities between the Arrinera and Bojar
El Toro Kit. The Bojar El Toro Kit does have a beltline similar to that
of the Reventon and Venocara, but it has a softer of a turn as it angles
downward toward the rear wheels, so definitely not the same beltline.
The Bojar El Toro Kit also has a god-awful ugly vent behind the side
glass, which is not present on the Arrinera.
Verdict:
Innocent, as there are small similarities, but they are both copying
the same car, so of course there are similarities. The Arrinera is a
much crisper looking car from the side than the Bojar El Toro Kit.
Rear View
Arrinera Venocara vs. Lamborghini Reventon:
The
taillights on the Arrinera are a complete replication of those from the
Reventon, just slightly larger. Other than that, the rear view of the
Arrinera is pretty unique and does not share any styling cues with the
Reventon.
Upon first glance, the taillights really
make you think they are identical, but when you stop and really look
you’ll notice they are totally different. There are circumstantial
similarities, like cooling vents and the upward angle of the rear end,
but those are present in almost any mid-engine supercar.
Verdict: Innocent. While they are similar upon first glance, there are significant differences between the Arrinera and Reventon
Arrinera Venocara vs. Bojar El Toro Kit:
Unfortunately, there are no available images of the back end of the Bojar El Toro Kit. So in accordance to TopSpeed rules, we have to throw out this part of our trial.
Verdict: Innocent. Without ample supporting evidence of wrongdoing we cannot enter a guilty verdict.
Interior:
The interior of the Arrinera is still in concept phase
and the original interior we all saw was simply a prototype, according
to Arrinera’s CEO. Since there is no evidence otherwise, we have to
suspend this portion of our trial until we see the final interior
design.
Verdict: Suspended
Final Ruling:
In respect to the allegations that the Venocara is built
from the Bojar El Toro Kit; TopSpeed finds Arrinera innocent and the
allegations brought forth by Jacek Balkan as false, unfounded, and
outright incorrect. A close study of the two cars shows little
similarity between them and any similarities are solely due to the
similarity between the Lamborghini Reventon and Venocara, given the fact
that the kit car is a replica of said Lamborghini.
In the second case of the engineering and designing
departments at Arrinera flat out copying Lamborghini’s styling, most of
which being the very rare and often forgotten Reventon, we find Arrinera
guilty of these charges. With these charges comes no punishment, as the
automotive realm is one full of copycats. It does cause us to frown
upon the company in hopes that its next car is more original. LINK
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