Led by the enterprising duo of Anton van Nunen and Max Alting Siberg, ISIS is took its first steps in the supercar business with the introduction of its flagship model, the AM01. The AM01 is a completely street-legal car that was ironically based on the Saker cars that we featured back in October of 2010. While those vehicles were regarded as track-only cars, the ISIS AM01 is anything but. It took nearly four years of planning, designing, developing, and even with a few road bumps along the way, both van Nunen and Siberg finally reached their goals of producing a niche supercar that can make waves in a fast, powerful, and luxurious segment long dominated by the Italians and the Germans.

We don't know how the AM01 is going to hold up against those heavyweights, but we do know that these guys won't be backing down.

Details on the Isis AM01 after the jump.

2011 ISIS AM01

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2011 ISIS AM01
  • Engine/Motor: 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine
  • Horsepower: 275 horsepower
  • Torque: 258 lb/ft of torque
  • Transmission: five-speed manual transmission
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior and Interior

Not a lot of details were bared on the materials used for the AM01 except that it comes with a composite body shell and that the shape looks similar to another Dutch supercar coachbuilder we showed you last October: the Saker Rapx and Sniper. Despite the limited details on the exterior and interior of the car, ISIS is expected to use a number of top-flight materials on the AM01, including fiberglass, aluminum, and carbon fiber.

Performance

The ISIS AM01 is set to be powered by a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine , the same powertrain that actually is used by the Impreza WRX STI. This engine is capable of producing an output of 275 horsepower and 258 lb/ft mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and the power transferred to the rear wheels. These numbers may not be all that overwhelming, but given that the AM01 only weighs 850 kg, or 1874 lbs, then the performance numbers are better than you would expect. The AM01 can hit 0-62 mph in just 4.2 seconds with a top speed of 162 mph.

Pricing

For all of this work, ISIS has priced the AM01 at €120,000, which is about $174,000 based on current exchange rates. As an added treat, the ISIS is also hard at work in preparing a second model to complement the AM01. Predictably called, the AM02, this more powerful version will feature a 3.0-liter engine with 400 horsepower and a price tag of €140,000, or around $203,000 based on current exchange rates.

Competition

Niche supercars have become the rage these days, especially in Europe where they seem to come out of the factories at a more rapid pace than at any point in history. From the Netherlands, there is the ISIS AM01 and the soon-to-be-unveiled AM02. And from Russia, we have the Marussia B1 and B2.

Aesthetically speaking, you can make a case for either the AM01 or the B1. The former takes a similar shape of a more subdued LMP1 racer whereas the latter looks to have been the lovechild of an Audi R8->ke1440 and a Lamborghini Murcielago->ke1267.

Under its hood, there's no question that the B1 sports is the more powerful engine with its 3.5-liter V6 Cosworth that produces three different pony levels: 300, 360, and 420. For the sake of argument, we're going to pick the B1 with 300 horsepower. In this case, with the AM01 being a much lighter car than the B1 - B1 weighs at over 1,100 kg - the performance numbers are pretty much even with the latter hitting a 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.