I was genuinely looking forward to the New York Auto Show unveiling of startup automaker Lyons Motor Cars’ LM2 Streamliner, a vehicle claimed to have 1,700 horsepower and all-wireless electrical functions. That won’t happen now. The LM 2 isn’t “ready” for its Auto Show debut, at least not during the media days.
Is it that the car really wasn’t ready, or that Lyons didn’t want reporters asking about it?
In an email to me this morning, a spokesman for Lyons Motor Cars said that a planned interview today with founder Kevin Lyons would be canceled, and that the car would not be shown today after all:
The LM2 Streamliner concept car will not be unveiled at The New York International Auto Show during the “Press Days.” The prototype will be displayed at the New York Auto Show during the consumer/public days at a later date.
There is still work to be done to have the concept car meet the standards of the founders as they would prefer to release the car to the public then. This is unfortunate as today is the last press day, but we will continue to keep you updated on the progress and provide images and be more than happy to accommodate email, phone, or skype interviews once the company is fully ready to reveal the prototype to the public.
In a follow-up email, the spokesman said the car still has interior and body work to complete because the company’s founder is a perfectionist and it wasn’t up to his standards.
If you’re going to visit the New York Auto Show at some point over the next few days, you might get to see the LM2. But the journalists gathered here today won’t, and they won’t get to ask questions about it. And there are plenty of questions to be asked.
To recap: Kevin Lyons is a designer and experienced kit car builder. In the days leading up to the New York Auto Show, he announced the formation of a new company aimed at building “the first U.S. hypercar” in the form of the LM2.
Like a lot of startup companies, the LM2 came with ambiguous artwork and grand promises. Lyons said the car will have a carbon fiber body, a 1,700 horsepower 8.2-liter V8, a zero to 60 mph time of 2.2 seconds, and a top speed of 290 mph. (TWO HUNDRED NINETY MILES PER HOUR.)
It also doesn’t have a wiring harness. Lyons says all electrical and electronic components both communicate via radio-frequency waves (RF) and are powered wirelessly. Nobody’s done that in a car, ever.
Naturally I was curious about such claims, and extremely skeptical, as was Jason in his detailed technical analysis. I was also desperate for something interesting to write about. This auto show has been so abysmally boring that the only big surprise reveal that didn’t happen at a pre-show event or Internet leak was the Honda Civic. (I know, Type-R and all, but still, HONDA CIVIC. Lame.)
There was a lot I wanted to ask. How can a presumably tiny startup like Lyons Motor Cars really leapfrog some major automakers in terms of speed and technology? How can it really achieve the claimed performance figures? Where does that engine come from and how can they mass produce it? Is the body designed to meet U.S. safety and crash regulations?
Why use a wireless electrical system, and does theirs really work? Who is investing in this thing and funding its development? Have they taken any pre-orders so far? Is it vaporware, a glorified kit car, or something more? Why are there no intakes for cooling? Why should anyone believe what Kevin Lyons is claiming?
For now, those questions will go unanswered. If the LM2 Streamliner ever makes an appearance at the auto show, and you happen to be there, tell it I said hello.
The full text of the email is below:
The interview and meet up to view the Lyons Motor Car LM2 Streamliner will have to be canceled today, unfortunately as the car is not quite ready today.
Lyons Motor Car is a visionary car brand with the mission to create a USA based hyper car that everyone could be proud of and aspire to own. The founders first conceptualized this brand with the intent to provide a luxury car that has been missing from the automobile industry. However, as a start-up company, Lyons Motor Car is self-funded and the founders work to ensure that each car, whether its a prototype or actual automobile, exceeds their and the industry’s expectations of what a luxury car brand is. The founders fund everything independently and are involved in every step of the process, from the creative concept to the manufacturing and production of the car, to ensure that a Lyons Motor Car is above the industry.
With this in mind, this was a hard decision for the founders to make, but the LM2 Streamliner concept car will not be unveiled at The New York International Auto Show during the “Press Days.” The prototype will be displayed at the New York Auto Show during the consumer/public days at a later date.
There is still work to be done to have the concept car meet the standards of the founders as they would prefer to release the car to the public then. This is unfortunate as today is the last press day, but we will continue to keep you updated on the progress and provide images and be more than happy to accommodate email, phone, or skype interviews once the company is fully ready to reveal the prototype to the public.