It is generally accepted that Italian sports cars are louder, more outlandishly designed and all-round more flamboyant than their contemporaries from overseas.
It follows that the leaders of their makers have often been charismatic – maybe even dogmatic – enough to have attracted cult followings in their own right.
Ferruccio Lamborghini, Enzo Ferrari and Horacio Pagani, responsible for some of the most pivotal cars and sensational headlines of their eras, were or are sufficiently charismatic and outspoken to have transcended the community of automotive enthusiasts and left an indelible mark on society as a whole.
Hazim Nada, founder and CEO of Italy’s latest sporting car maker, doesn’t quite fit the mould. His nascent brand, Aehra, has already made quite the splash with the reveal of its maiden model – an ultra-aerodynamic, super-luxury SUV to rival the Lotus Eletre – and intriguing plans for Porsche Taycan and Maserati Granturismo equivalents to follow closely behind. When he arrives for our long-anticipated meeting in London (a whistle stop on a whirlwind extravaganza of hand-shaking with key stakeholders and collaborators in his growing firm), it quickly becomes clear that this is a CEO who is more than happy for his products to do the shouting.
Read more: Aehra SUV: £155k BMW iX rival to begin road testing in 2023
Faced with the tricky question of why he sees fit to launch an ultra-premium sporting car brand in this most inhospitable of market climates, he answers rationally: “In terms of the current time frame, I think it’s challenging for everybody. The EV transition is going ahead; I don’t see that a U-turn will happen. It’s beneficial to us in two ways: we already see that there is availability of supply that would have been tighter in discussions a few months ago, and the producers and manufacturers that have come out with models over the past few years have faced difficulties in ramping up. And now that there’s a downturn, the demand is going to slow down a little bit. So generally, it’s a strategic advantage for us.”
There’s no bluster here, just bold ambition – perhaps verging on optimism – presented candidly and with full view of the nuances of today’s circumstances. You could call it humble, or at the very least an exhibition of commendable self-awareness – hardly a quality often associated with the most vocal personalities in this rarefied sphere of £150,000-plus cars. And this from the leader of a firm whose goal is to be “intensely focused on creating a driving experience that is always extraordinary”.
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