MEGA…  MEGA by name, MEGA by nature!

for full article, click this link;  MEGA by AIXAM – final

It might seem incongruous that France’s largest and arguably most successful manufacturer of sans permis – no licence – micro cars is also the manufacturer of some of the largest and most powerful road cars build in France over recent years.

The parent company, Aixam, was at the time staffed by a group of young engineers who doubled as performance car /motorsport enthusiasts, and was run by a COE who reputedly had petroleum coursing through his veins. MEGA came into being a few short years after the formation of Aixam in 1986, but unlike its parent, it petered out before it’s time – perhaps its vision was too Grand for its home country, and unexpected in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Whatever may be, MEGA left in its wake and small but interesting legacy of enthusiasts cars. Most notable is probably the MEGA Track, a true 4×4 supercar with off-road capability, followed by the MEGA Monte Carlo.

I will save the detail for the article – no point repeating oneself. However, just in case you are wondering, the Track is not only full time 4×4, it is a full four adult-seat V12 mid-engined vehicle that has the ability to raise or lower its ride height to suit the terrain or track being encountered.

The Monte Carlo on the other hand is a genuine carbon-fibre two-seater launched just four years later. 450 bhp at the time was quite healthy but by today’s standard is rather mundane. Still, good torque equalled a respectable 0:100k time.

In addition to these MEGA designed and built some interesting championship wining Ice racing, Dune Buggy and Paris Dakar rallying vehicles, mostly in FWD format, along with some innovative concepts for recreational road cars.

MEGA still exists as a side-kick to Aixam, now focused on more utilitarian electric road-vehicles. But they still have some competition in the arteries, if not petrol, for in 2010 the company returned for a season or two to Ice Racing – in the then new electric class.

Read this link for the full article:  MEGA by AIXAM

P.S. This is the first article in this Website that has been proofed without the assistance of my long time friend and associate, Dave Cass, who has supported my work through rain and shine. Thanks Dave for all your help in the past!