Small Californian lightweight supercar company Rezvani has been hard at work. You may remember its ‘Beast’ from a few years ago. That was SoCal’s take on the British-built Ariel Atom. Using the Atom’s scaffolding chassis, Rezvani made it even stiffer then added lots more power. 500bhp, to be precise. Clearly that wasn’t enough, because Rezvani has now made a more sinister, even more powerful version: the Beast Alpha X Blackbird.

The name may sound like a MacBook’s operating system, but by all accounts, it’s a serious bit of kit. A whopping 700bhp comes courtesy of a 2.5-litre inline-four cylinder engine with a brain from Cosworth. We’re told that Rezvani builds the Beast’s engine from the ground up using Carillo racing forged pistons, rods, cams, valves, springs and that Cosworth ECU. It’s all slotted in behind the driver and feeds the wheels that ludicrous power figure via a six-speed manual gearbox. If you prefer to keep both hands on the wheel, a sequential paddle-shift ‘box is also an option.

Unlike the original Beast that was based on the Atom, this time Rezvani has called upon the service of another iconic lightweight British chassis: the Lotus Elise. It’s cloaked in carbon bodywork designed by Samir Sadikhov, and is incredibly light. Tipping the scales at 975kg makes for a pretty punchy power-to-weight ratio of 717bhp per tonne. That’s a healthy amount of grunt to see 60mph off from a standstill in 2.9 seconds.

The cabin is furnished with luxuries like air conditioning, electric windows, and central locking – how fancy. There’s also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. Plus Rezvani’s signature ‘SideWinder’ doors that slide out and forward in one smooth motion. Just watch out for cyclists and kerbs as it’ll be easy to joust them.

Want one? Well, the black-only Beast Alpha X Blackbird starts at $225,000 (£160k) and you get a one-year/unlimited-mile warranty thrown in for that price. But if you’ve not got that in your wallet and want something a bit cheaper, you can get the 500bhp Beast Alpha for $200,000 or a 400bhp car for $95,000. Which sounds like a bit of a steal considering you get all the looks and more than enough power.