The MPM PS160 Is A French Sportscar For Less Than $9500

When you think of sporty four door coupes, what’s the first car to come to your mind? The Porsche Panamera? The Mercedes CLS AMG? The Audi RS7? Or maybe even the Aston Martin Rapide? These are great cars, no doubt - but there is one problem: They all cost over $100.000.
For quite some time there were no real alternatives on the market. But that has changed, as a French car manufacturer started producing a sporty four door coupe which costs less than a new Dacia Duster.

The PS160 originated in Russia. In 2013, Mikhail Paramonov started producing the Tagaz AQUiLA, however the company went bankrupt less than a year later. Then, the founder’s son Oleg Paramonov reactivated the project and moved it to France. In early 2016, the company which had been renamed to MPM Motors opened their first production plant near Paris - and now, their first car has launched. It’s called the PS160, and it’s offered for a killer price of 8,500€ / $9,471.

The MPM PS160 uses a space frame, which is cheap and easy to produce, as well as a body made from composite materials. It’s 4.68 m long, 1.86 m wide and only 1.38 m high. The wheelbase is 2.75 m long, and thanks to the simple construction, the car only weighs 1,225 kg.

The sportscar is powered by a 1.6 liter, 4-cylinder Mitsubishi engine producing 106 hp. It is paired with a manual five-speed gearbox and front wheel drive.
Design wise, the PS160 features a sleek and low front end and muscular wheel wells morphing into the passenger cabin which sits far forward on the car. The side windows are pretty small, and so are the rear doors. The rear of the car reaches considerable higher than the front.

The car comes with 18”-alloys, sporty seats, air con, heated mirrors, driver airbag, MP3-radio, LED headlights, electric windows, fog lights and ABS from factory. And while we don’t expect it quite to match European standards (all in all it’s still a Russian car produced in France), MPM offers a warranty for 3 years or 100,000 km.

From the interior shot we can tell that the car comes with lots of cheap plastic as well as traditional, analog gauges. But despite the cheap looks, MPM actually put some effort into it to brighten up the interior with some red color splashes.

Speaking of colors, there are plenty to choose from. The 7 basic colors (Black, Dark Grey, Light Grey, Warm White, Red, Summer Yellow and Night Sky) can also be combined to bicolor variations. Furthermore, there are over 30 special editions colors, of which some are shown in the picture above. The standard alloys are optional available in gray and black.

Safety plays an important role in the development of a new car, especially if it’s a low-budget one. And while many other cheap cars fail miserably at Euro NCAP crash tests, MPM Motors is confident that their car can do better. This is what they stated on their website:

“From its initial conception the steel space frame with composite body of the PS160 is exceptional at absorbing impacts.
The engine shows very little movement during the impact and the steering column doesn’t protrude into the passenger cabin. The doors show almost no deformation after impact, hence making it easy for the occupants to exit the vehicle after impact.
The test was a success from its first attempt which re-insures the success of our future projects.”

You can watch the full video crash test video here.

However, the price of 8,500€ only applies to the first batch of the pre-production models. Later, the car will be sold for 12,990€ / $14,474 - so you better be quick if you want to get your hands on a sports car that costs less than a Dacia! And if you are not into low-to-the-ground coupés, you may be interested in the SUV which will be MPM’s next project.

Would you give this car a try? And will it have a chance on the market? Comment below!
Tobi aka The Stig’s German Cousin