Marussia B1 and B2

[thebrochureman]

I know theirs already a thread on the Marussia B1 but that was when no official performance figures. Also now theirs more photos.

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Russia’s first ever sports car was in London last week and we were there to have a look. The Marussia B1 was at the launch of the Marussia Virgin Racing F1 car at BBC Television Centre sharing the Studio One stage with F1 drivers Timo Glock and rookie Belgian Jerome D’Ambrosio (already nicknamed Custard). Also in front of the cameras was David Croft (‘there’s been a cock-up, they said get that DC bloke who commentates on the F1 for the BBC…’) and the founder of Marussia, Nikolay Fomenko, who is Russia’s equivalent of Jeremy Clarkson.
The rear-wheel drive B1 looks absolutely stunning, with a very clean CFD designed body devoid of any wings. There are three engine options, all designed by Cosworth (also suppliers of the engine for the F1 car). The base engine is a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 producing 300bhp and 302lb ft. However, there is also a 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 which is offered in two states of tune: 360bhp and 383lb ft or 420bhp and 442lb ft. None of these seem to quite live up to the looks of the B1 and a 0-62mph time of 3.8sec looks extremely optimistic. Until you consider the weight.
The most exciting thing about the B1 is that it weighs just 1100kg. This means that in its fiercest spec the B1 has a power-to-weight ratio of 388bhp/ton, just out-gunning a Ferrari 458 Italia’s figure of 384bhp/ton. This weight is achieved, in part, thanks to carbon composite body panels. The chassis is an aluminium semi-monocoque tub, to which are attached front and rear tubular spaceframes, while the gearbox is a six-speed automatic with paddles attached to the back of the steering wheel. The top speed is claimed to be a conservative sounding 155mph.
I managed to have a sit in the B1 (not easy as the up-sweeping doors don’t open far enough) and head-room for anyone over 6ft is very tight. The interior is not as well resolved as the exterior, but the Intel Core 2 Duo processor (dummmm dum dum dum dum!) powered touch screen infotainment system looked very good and there are three cameras which not only help low speed manoeuvring but also allow you to record your road trips.
In addition to the B1 there is also a mechanically identical but wilder looking car called the B2, which has an air of the Edonis about its very edgy styling. Three B1s are already running around Moscow doing durability testing and the first customer cars are due to be delivered this summer. The price is expected to be around £110,000.

Do you prefer the look of the B1 or B2 i prefer the look of the B1.

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/263920/marussia_b1.html

[W.R.]

I'm surprised with how well these cars have turned out. Gonna take a while to get used to the looks of the B2 though.

[Cobrafan427]

That purple reminds me of the first NFS Hot Pursuit, you could always get the funkier cars in that color i.e. the Italdesign

[092326001]

I think the B1 looks brilliant. The B2, not so much.

[LHamilton_w]

The B1 looks sleek. The B2 overwrought.

[ScionDriver]

I agree the B1 is a better looking car, it'd be nice to find out if they drive any good or not.

[faksta]

They arrange international test drives from time to time. The last one has taken place at Yas Marina (or is about to take place, but I guess it is already sold out). Seen the B1 close in person at their showroom, and it really looks much better live.

[thebrochureman]

I also prefer the look of the B1, Marussia must have made a mistake when they designed the B2 because i think it looks wrong.

[csl177]

There's... there's... there's. It's a contraction, not a pronoun. If you're going to continue to cut 'n paste copy, at least introduce it correctly and make clear it's not yours. Mr. Catchpole deserves that at the very least.

[DesmoRob]

The B1 is the better looking of the two cars, and only because its the least original. Obviously the designers couldn't decide if they liked Pagani or Lambo styling more, so they threw them both together into something that actually looks decent.

[Kruglov]

The project of the first Russian sports car manufacturer finally came to an end: Marussia Motors dismissed all staff. This information was posted to the website Cardesign.ru by ex-employees of the Nikolai Fomenko’s company. One of them even gave a “farewell” photo.

The Marussia B1 was presented in December 2008. Then they manufactured one more sports car – the B2 model – and the F2 crossover. In 2010, the company opened the showroom in the centre of Moscow and even started to take pre-orders, but production vehicles wasn’t started.

The project was “re-started” in 2012: Marussia Motors concluded an agreement with Finnish company Valmet Automotive about re-engineering of the B2 sport car and arrangement of its production in Finland. These plans were not destined to be implemented too.

http://wroom.ru/en/news/1994