
A 17k sport car made in France - zettacircl
http://www.mpm-motors.com/
======
taneq
As per the FAQ question "Why not make it more powerful?" (via Google
Translate):

> Do not forget that it is a lowcost car, it has a sporty look, yes, but it is
> not a sport, hence its price.

My main worries for it being a "sports car" are that the transverse engine
suggests front wheel drive (unless there's evidence to the contrary?) and the
lack of any discussion of the gearbox other than specifying it as "mechanical"
(which hopefully is a mistranslation of "manual"?)

Also it's not THAT low cost, given that its main competition seems to be the
Toybaru BRZ which is only EU 3k more and has 200hp to this thing's 130hp (and
the primary criticism of which is STILL "it's underpowered".)

Edit: I misread. As pointed out below, the BRZ is actually a fair bit more
expensive.

~~~
devoply
My main issue would be fixing stuff if it breaks. Toyota dealer's got you.
With this thing after a few years good luck, unless they have built it on a
bunch of standard parts from a Japanese or German manufacturer or something.

~~~
SnackFalcon
The site states it has an EB2ADTS engine. That's a PSA group engine used in a
bunch of cars such as the Peugeot 3008. So support/parts would be be pretty
easy to obtain.

~~~
ihalip
But I don't think it uses PSA's EMP2 platform. Wikipedia says this car is a
modified Tagaz Aquila.

~~~
namdnay
You're right! And MPM is "Mikhail Paramonov Manufacturing"... they've stuck a
lot of French flags on their website, but it's a russian design

EDIT: something very fishy going on...
[https://en.crimerussia.com/oligarchs/versailles-mansion-
of-t...](https://en.crimerussia.com/oligarchs/versailles-mansion-of-tagaz-
owner-searched/)

~~~
will_deBerry
the design is 100% Korean, the first project was produced at the Ukrainian
border for 4 months in factories rented to the Tagaz group, then the group
closed and the project was forgotten until we bought back the rights

------
copperx
Since I was a teenager I never understood why cheap cars had to be ugly in the
exterior. I understand that if you're a car company you don't want to
cannibalize sales of your higher-end models, but that doesn't stop a new
company coming up with a really nice looking budget car.

Why did that never happen? I still wonder.

This car looks really nice, and proves that a nice looking car doesn't have to
be expensive.

~~~
libc2020
I think Mazda is trying to fill in that niche, the recent 2019 Mazda3 is more
refined and luxurious compared to competitors in it's class, but without the
price tag of a German luxury.

~~~
namdnay
The Mazda 3 is definitely not a "cheap car" in Europe. Mazda are positioning
themselves slightly more upmarket in the premium sector, trying to nibble away
at VW's dominance in this sector

------
pcurve
I'm a car guy and I had never heard of this until today.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkNga_su--
w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkNga_su--w)

Check out the video.

Build quality and fit/finish is worse than Chinese cars from early 2000s.
Panel gaps, alignment, interior quality, materials. Absolutely horrendous.
Inexcusable even for $17k. For that money, you are better off buying a Honda
Fit. I don't see the point of this car at all.

~~~
GordonS
French cars, particularly Renault and Citroën do have a terrible reputation
for being cheaply and shoddily made, so perhaps not surprising.

~~~
will_deBerry
it was true 10 years ago, they are now among the top 5 most reliable in europe

------
donalhunt
Is it just me but does a new petrol Euro 6.2 engine make sense in 2019? I know
it's targeting the sports market but if they went with an electric motor, they
would have a pretty competitive vehicle imo (they are limited to 1000
cars/year though).

~~~
zettacircl
Totally agree. Just found it fun that we can make "a sport car" for below 20k
(it was sold at 8k before launch) with very common car parts.

~~~
rale00
You can get a new Mitsubishi Mirage for under $10k, if you really wanted to.
Just like this car, it also comes with a 1.2L 3-cylinder engine, and is also
not at all a sports car.

~~~
will_deBerry
To dispel all misunderstandings, NO, it is not a sports and obviously not a
super car (130hp 1.2Turbo for 16 490 € ... obviously not :) \- The goal of
this car is to have a relatively inexpensive leisure vehicle with a "sporty"
design (that we like or not) and feelings of "fun" driving (due in particular
to the standard bucket seats, in the center low gravity, tubular black currant
fairly rigid, the sound of the engine well present in the cabin, the weight /
power ratio that remains correct for a car of 4.68m (1240kg) and the side
"gross" and "without filter" which will delight some and will scare others. \-
So NO, it's not a sports, we do not even communicate on the 0/100 so it's the
opposite of what we wanted to do. \- Yes the road behavior is excellent
(proportionately kept and useless comparison with sports). \- The car on loan
for this test was just coming out of the assembly line (we are in constant
flow) and we asked the testers not to force too hard on the engine. \- Yes it
is about finishes constantly being improved and no it is not a luxury car, far
from it (it's a car made by hand in the 78, the only robot there is at home is
the coffee machine). \- We are an SME with all that implies and compare us to
major manufacturers, their unlimited means, their finish, their equipment,
would not necessarily be wise. (same for comparisons with cars of big brands
in occasion)

------
namdnay
There's something very dodgy about this.. At no point in their "history" do
they mention that this is the Tagaz Aquila from Russia, and that MPM motors is
Mikhail Paramonov: [https://en.crimerussia.com/oligarchs/versailles-mansion-
of-t...](https://en.crimerussia.com/oligarchs/versailles-mansion-of-tagaz-
owner-searched/)

So he bankrupted his previous car company TagAz, and now he's selling the same
car under a new company...

------
aitchnyu
Is there an relatively affordable road legal car designed for maximum
sportiness at expense of comfort and beauty? Example optimisations in mind:
door above knee high roll cage, single headlight unit near the center (why
distribute two masses towards edges?), two piece windscreen if need be, door
made out of a steel slab with outside hinges, windows that dont roll down
completely.

~~~
ukoki
Caterham 7s start at £26,490 in the UK with comfort being a definite low
priority

[https://www.caterhamcars.com/en/models/the-iconic-
range/seve...](https://www.caterhamcars.com/en/models/the-iconic-
range/seven-270)

~~~
namdnay
They don't sell the 160 anymore? It was less than 15 grand in kit!

~~~
ollie87
Nope.

------
will_deBerry
Hello everyone, A customer sent us this link, I see a lot of questions and
sometimes misunderstanding too :)

Have a look on our faceBook page instagram, you will see more things

To quickly summarize our young company:

MPM Motors is a young French car manufacturer founded in 2015 in the 78. The
goal is simple, to offer vehicles with a sporty look for a reasonable budget,
to a public who often remains dreamy in front of cars inaccessible to the
common people.

The PS160 and its evolution ERELIS are the first models of a range of vehicles
developed by MPM MOTORS. We manually assemble our vehicles in our factory in
Saint Quentin en Yvelines (near Paris). Thus creating a hundred jobs in the
region since 2016.

The combination of space frame and composite body, inspired by motorsport,
allows us a unique design for a production car, providing exceptional handling
and sports sensations for a limited cost.

= To dispel all misunderstandings, NO, it is not a sports and obviously not a
super car (130hp 1.2Turbo for 16 490 € ... obviously not :) \- The goal of
this car is to have a relatively inexpensive leisure vehicle with a "sporty"
design (that we like or not) and feelings of "fun" driving (due in particular
to the standard bucket seats, in the center low gravity, tubular black currant
fairly rigid, the sound of the engine well present in the cabin, the weight /
power ratio that remains correct for a car of 4.68m (1240kg) and the side
"gross" and "without filter" which will delight some and will scare others. \-
So NO, it's not a sports, we do not even communicate on the 0/100 so it's the
opposite of what we wanted to do. \- Yes the road behavior is excellent
(proportionately kept and useless comparison with sports). \- The car on loan
for this test was just coming out of the assembly line (we are in constant
flow) and we asked the testers not to force too hard on the engine. \- Yes it
is about finishes constantly being improved and no it is not a luxury car, far
from it (it's a car made by hand in the 78, the only robot there is at home is
the coffee machine). \- We are an SME with all that implies and compare us to
major manufacturers, their unlimited means, their finish, their equipment,
would not necessarily be wise. (same for comparisons with cars of big brands
in occasion) \- We remain at your disposal to answer all your questions
without language as usual.

(sorry for my aproximative english :))

Guillaume de Berry MPM Motors France

------
RickJWagner
Hmmm, there's a banner at the bottom that says 'Recruiting for 2018'. Is this
thing dead?

------
ian0
Could anyone find the performance statistics? 0-100kph?

~~~
omneity
According to their FAQ, it's 10s, and the max speed is 180kph. The same entry
mentions that the car is _not_ a sports car, only has the looks.

[http://www.mpm-motors.com/faq/](http://www.mpm-motors.com/faq/) Section
"Pourquoi ne pas avoir mis plus de puissance?"

