It takes a lot to be noticed in the arena of ultra-high-end supercars nowadays. With creations like the One:1 and LaFerrari running around blowing minds, any manufacturer looking to make a name for itself is going to need to bring in the heavy artillery.

Lyons Motor Car knows this, and if even half of the claims it's making about its new LM2 Streamliner turn out to be true, it should have no problem gaining the car world’s undivided attention.

However, that remains one very big "if." Even though it’s the fledgling carmaker's first model, Lyons Motor Car is planning on making the LM2 the fastest production car in the world. It wants to incorporate one of the most advanced electrical systems ever made. It wants the car to be quiet, civilized and luxurious on the street, but completely dominant on the track. Exotic materials are to be used throughout. Finally, it’s expected to arrive in prototype form at the New York International Auto Show->ke226 in less than a week’s time.

The LM2 Streamliner has been in the pipeline for several years now, and despite a few missed deadlines, it appears as though it’s finally ready for a public reveal. Can Lyons Motor Car deliver the goods, or will it be just another whiff of vaporware?

Continue reading to learn more about the Lyons Motor Car LM2 Streamliner.

2016 Lyons Motor Car LM2 Streamliner

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2016 Lyons Motor Car LM2 Streamliner
  • Engine/Motor: V8
  • Horsepower: 1700 @ 9000
  • Torque: 1610 @ 4000
Pros
Cons

About Lyons Motor Car

After decades of experience building show cars, Kevin Lyons decided that the United States needed a luxury hypercar to compete against the established models coming from Europe, and thus, Lyons Motor Car was established in 2011. It’s the first automaker to be based out of New York City in the last 70 years.

Prior to establishing his own car company, Lyons studied art, experienced a good deal of success in corporate design, built custom vehicles and honed his fabrication talents. One of his many projects included an impressive 2001 Lamborghini Diablo->ke376 build whereby Lyons built an OEM-spec car from scratch, engineering and fabricating everything by hand, including the wheels, gauges, bodywork and suspension.

Exterior

Lyons wants to produce a car unlike anything anyone has ever seen, and like many ideas born from passion, the LM2 began on a napkin. Lyons’ extensive experience in art and design informed the lines that he was seeking, while his engineering knowledge kept the creative flamboyance in check with what was actually technically possible.

From hand-drawn pictures, the LM2 was rendered digitally using CAD software that fleshed out the design in a virtual 3D environment. Traditionally, the designs then make the leap to the real world via clay mockups or smaller-scale models. Lyons, however, circumvented this process, instead opting to go straight into carbon parts production: “We knew exactly what we wanted and we did exactly what we wanted to do. We went for it,” he says.

The body of the LM2 will be made from carbon fiber. The full-length chassis should be carbon fiber and aluminum, while a semi-monocoque carbon-fiber safety cell will be used to protect passengers. The subframes will be made from carbon fiber and billet stainless steel. All this composite and aluminum should make for both extreme rigidity and very low weight, with the LM2 expected to tip the scales at just 3,100 pounds, distributed 44/56 percent front to rear.

The projected dimensions are typical supercar, with a low 43.5-inch height and broad 83.5-inch width. The headlights will be full LEDs with 1,200-watt HID driving lamps. The wheels will be Rennen International two-piece forged rollers with central locking, measuring 20-inches tall and 9.5 inches wide up front. In back, they’ll be 21 inches tall and a ludicrous 15 inches wide. Wrapping these will be Pirelli P Zero Nero rubber.

Exterior Dimensions

Length

182.60 Inches

Width

83.5 Inches

Wheelbase

110 Inches

Height

43.5 Inches

Weight

3,100 Lbs

Track F / R

64.0 in / 66.0

Ground Clearance

3.8 in to 5.0 in


Interior

Lyons Motor Car claims that the technology going into the LM2 is 10 years ahead of every other auto manufacturer out there, and a big part of that is in the wiring, or rather, the lack of it. Instead of the typical spaghetti mess of crisscrossing wires, the LM2 will use RF signals to control everything. There will be five ECU “brains” to sort out what goes where, which Lyons Motor Car claims makes the system the most advanced full microprocessor-controlled electrical system ever. There will be no wiring harness, no breaker relays, and no fuses.

Additionally, the interior will use a total of zero buttons and toggle switches. Crack open the jetliner-style triple-sealed scissor doors, and you should find every surface touch sensitive. In lieu of traditional controls, there will be a Bluetooth hands free system and 16-inch touch screen directing the central infotainment. This should include navigation, a 1000-watt Bose sound system, Azentech in-car PC with Wi-Fi hotspot, and diffused A/C delivery and ventilation. What’s more, Lyons Motor Car claims it can all be customized through your mobile device. That means you can tell the car to do something like start the engine, open the door, crank up the climate control, and put on your favorite tunes when you walk within a certain distance of the proximity sensors.

Other features will include custom power-adjustable Recaro seats and a “smart mirror,” electronic blind spot eliminator. That last one is particularly important looking at the non-existent rear visibility of the design. Finally, a 300-mph speedometer and 10,000-rpm tachometer should be in place to remind you of the car’s claimed capabilities.

Drivetrain

If you thought the button-free infotainment system and wireless electrical system were wild, prepare yourself, because the drivetrain takes those lofty aspirations straight into hyperspace.

Mounted longitudinally in the middle of the LM2 will be a twin-turbo, DOHC, 8.2-liter short-block V-8 with dual intercoolers, dry sump lubrication and a 9,200-rpm redline. It’ll be hewn from a single piece of aluminum, with the cylinder banks placed at 90 degrees. The turbos will be symmetrical, the compression ratio will be 10:1, and two injectors will be used per cylinder. Output is expected to be 1,700 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 1,610 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm.

All that power will be sent through an Underground Racing, billet-case sequential seven-speed transmission, with the gearbox mounted forward for better weight distribution. An AWD system composed of a Haldex/Borg Warner front differential, Borg Warner 44 rear differential, and custom driveshafts will make the traction.

The brakes will come from Brembo, with rotors made from carbon ceramic and measuring in at 15.7 inches up front and 15 inches in the back. Eight-piston calipers clamp the bigger rotors, while six-pistons clamp the rear. Bosh ABS and ESP keep it manageable.

The suspension will be made from titanium and aluminum, with billet-alloy upper and lower A-arms, pushrod coil springs, electronically adjustable shocks, and anti-roll bars. The steering will be hydraulically assisted rack and pinion, with 2.9 turns lock-to-lock.

Two settings (Sport and Luxury) will be available to electronically adjust ride height and damper settings. These two drive modes will also activate an electronic cutout in the stainless inconel and titanium exhaust system for either quiet operation or maximum aural output. There will also be cylinder deactivation for better economy and comfort.

I saved the best bit for last. Performance calculations look something like this: Lyons Motor Car guarantees a 0-to-60 of 2.2 seconds or better and an 8-second quarter mile. Top speed is estimated at 290 mph. Standstill to 100 mph will supposedly take 4.1 seconds, 0-to-150 mph will take 7.85 seconds, and 0-to-200 will take 11.85 seconds.

Lyons Motor Car also says there’s an all-electric->ke1030 version in the works.

Drivetrain Specifications

Type

90 degree V8

Valvetrain

Dual Overhead Cam

Block /Heads

Billet Aluminum/ internal starter

Horsepower

1,700 HP @ 9000 RPM (2500HP max dyno) digital controller deboosted twin symmetrical turbochargers

Torque

​1610 LB-FT @ 4,000 RPM

Displacement

8.2L 500 cubic inch

Redline

9,200 RPM

Lubrication

Dry sump, cool can, twin oil coolers

Compression Ratio

10:10:1

Fuel Injection

Sequential port 2 injectors / cylinder

0 - 60 mph

2.2 seconds

0 - 100 mph

4.1 seconds

0 - 150

7.85

0 - 200

11.85

1/4 Mile 1320ft

8.80 secs @174 mph

​Standing Mile

279 mph

Top Speed

290 MPH (Est)

Braking 60 - 0, 200' Skidpad 1.70 G

96' feet


Prices

According to a YouTube comment made by the account “Kevin Lyons” last year, the LM2 is expected to cost $1.3 million. Whether or not that statement was made by the real Mr. Lyons remains undetermined, as does the final outlay should this machine actually make it to production.

However, one thing is certain: anyone who might want to buy this hand-built vehicle should expect to pay something deep in the seven-figure range.

Competition

Koenigsegg One:1

When it comes to outrageous engineering, the One:1 is hard to beat. It’s a car that represents an idea that’s easy to say, but incredibly difficult to achieve. You see, One:1 references the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio, as in one horsepower for every kilogram.

In pursuit of this figure, Koenigsegg->ke43 built the car almost entirely from carbon fiber, which yields a curb weight of just 1,340 kg, or 2,954 pounds. The twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-8, therefore, produces 1,340 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 1,011 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm. That enables this Koenigsegg to hit 248 mph in just 20 seconds, making it one of the fastest production cars in the world.

Read our full review here.

Ferrari LaFerrari

As the Italian entrant in the three-way hybrid hypercar battle, LaFerrari is every bit as exotic as the LM2 hopes to be. Put simply, this is the brand incarnate, representing the fastest car Ferrari has ever put together.

The exterior looks amazing, but is quite functional, with all those wings and scoops generating ample downforce at speed while still retaining an overall drag coefficient of nearly 0.3. The interior is F1-->ke190inspired, with copious switches and buttons, plus paddle-shifters mounted to the steering wheel.

The drivetrain is composed of a 6.3-liter V-12 mated to two electric motors, with a HY-KERS hybrid system in place to help generate 963 horsepower and more than 663 pound-feet of torque. Standstill to 60 takes less than three seconds, while 0-to-186 mph takes 15 seconds.

Read our full review here.

Conclusion

Long story short, the odds are not with Lyons Motor Car. The four-year-old company is trying to do a lot all at once, including making its first model the fastest production car in the world, using the most advanced electrical system in the world, incorporating the most exotic materials in the world -- all from scratch. Just one of those things is a tall order. Taken all at the same time, and you must excuse my incredulity.

But I really hope the company pulls it off. I’m not the biggest fan of the exterior design, but I desperately want some U.S.-based startup to up-end the current crop of hypercars. A 2.2-second 0-to-60, 8-second quarter mile, and 290 mph top speed sound like the sort of figures you’d settle on after sharing a few pitchers at a bar, but if the LM2 can hit anything close to those numbers, it’ll be a monumental achievement.

So more power to the underdogs. We’ll see you in New York.