Artega GT World Premiere at Geneva

Press Release

Germany’s alternative to the sports car establishment

The new car brand Artega® is set to unveil a close-to-production prototype of its debut model. Artega®’s aim is the development and production of small-series sports cars that break the mould. Artega® was the brainchild of engineers in the development department at paragon, the globally successful electronics supplier based in Delbrück, in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. The company’s mission statement commits it to providing a convincing and sustained demonstration of both all-round automotive expertise and a passion for sporty cars.

Artega® and the Artega® GT represent a new beginning, with no brief to bring a historical brand back to life and no nostalgia agenda. The challenging, international setting of the Geneva Motor Show makes this a fitting venue for the first public unveiling of both brand and car.

The new Artega® GT combines the emotional appeal of a high-performance sports car with the defining attributes of a sports tourer. The development of the car hinged on four priorities:

A distinctive design language. Renowned designer Henrik Fisker has created proportions with an unprecedented purity: broad, flat and compact. Given its restricted dimensions, an interior brimming with efficiency comes as something of a surprise. There is room inside the car not just for two adults, but also their luggage – and even a child seat can be integrated as an option.

Agility, driving dynamics and safety. The key parameters in the development of the Artega® GT were lightweight construction and rigidity. A generously sized aluminium space frame teams up with a body made from carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials to ensure an impressive power-to-weight ratio. High-quality components sourced from the Volkswagen Group and a rear-engined arrangement make for top-class performance. The V6 powerplant with a direct-shift gearbox and a specially developed inverting stage was built into a compact module made from high-strength steel tubing. Active driving dynamics aids are an integral element of the GT, while exceptionally effective crash boxes protect the occupants in the event of an accident.

Touring suitability. The development engineers attached great importance to creating an occupant-oriented package. A wide variety of stowage areas and two luggage compartments exceed the usual boundaries for a car with these dimensions. The key to this extraordinary spaciousness was the decision to mount the engine horizontally in the rear of the car.

Controls. The expertise of the electronics specialists at paragon opened the door to a wide range of innovative control and driver information systems. With its groundbreaking new sensor switch panels and the unique dual-indicator speedometer/rev counter instrument, paragon’s all-new interior ambience represents a significant standout feature of the new Artega® GT.

By the end of 2007 a state-of-the-art production facility will be constructed in Delbrück for the Artega® GT and other potential models. The new location will bring together component manufacturing, final assembly and a brand and sales centre, allowing the brand to meet the broadest possible range of customer specifications.

The new Artega® GT is no show car. It documents the nascent brand’s intention to lay down a range of models which are designed for the long term and can secure it a place alongside the major manufacturers. The target group for these small-volume cars is a select band of enthusiasts who value ideas which step outside the norm and are therefore unlikely to be satisfied by large-series models.

Artega® aims to enrich the sports car world rather than providing extra competition.

Technical data: the Artega® GT sports touring car

Artega. The history.

The idea.

paragon AG is a successful direct supplier to almost every major car maker. Based in Delbrück in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, paragon develops and produces cutting-edge electronics technology such as control and display components, climate control and car media systems. Now paragon CEO Klaus Dieter Frers (54) is looking to broaden the company’s profile beyond that of a supplier to become a development partner in the motor industry. This change of role will require paragon to showcase its extensive systems expertise. Frers’ idea: to create a new car.

The incentive.

In order to demonstrate genuine expertise, the new model will need to be built in series. Frers’ concept: a high-performance sports car – rear-wheel drive, lightweight and powerful – that is both visually dramatic and practical, and contains innovative instruments and control systems supplied by paragon. Back in 2003 he presented the idea to legendary car designer Albrecht Graf Goertz, the creator of the BMW 507. As coincidence would have it, the first car Goertz designed was called the “Paragon“. His advice to Frers ran along the lines of: “There are things in life that have to be done“. For Frers, this car is one of them.

The expertise.

Frers is what you might call a “car guy“. His father was a plant manager at NSU, while Frers himself is a qualified engineer, keen racing driver and car collector. His new car will have to meet the highest standards. Frers knows what paragon can deliver, of course, and for those areas beyond its reach he has cast the net further afield. At the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, for example, he struck an agreement with renowned designer Henrik Fisker, and the wind tunnel at the University of Stuttgart has been used for aerodynamics work. The engine and transmission for the new car, meanwhile, were sourced from the Volkswagen Group. The result is a harmonious whole of exceptional quality.

The aspiration.

The aim is to help shape the future of the automobile. This new project is not about bringing an old brand back to life, but creating a new one. Artega® embodies the commitment of its founders to producing something totally new, free from the shackles of the past. A spin-off of paragon, Artega® is no small-scale workshop outfit but a maker of high-performance sports cars using industrial processes. Initially, annual production capacity at the specially constructed factory in Delbrück has been set at 500 units, while a brand centre will also be built on the site. The Artega® GT will be the first car produced as part of a long-term model strategy.

The end product.

The Artega® GT is not intended to create competition for existing sports cars. It will form a niche of its own, set apart from both small-scale exotica and volume manufacturers. The Artega® GT exudes emotional appeal, power and innovation. Despite its unusual proportions – compact, flat and broad – it offers an astonishingly high level of practicality, and the broad use of lightweight construction techniques ensures outstanding performance and impressive efficiency. The Artega® GT combines all this with an innovative paragon interior to create a quite unique new sports car for devotees of automotive innovation.