L.A. Auto Show: $1.1-million monstrosity turns heads on showroom floor - Los Angeles Times
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Autos

L.A. Auto Show: $1.1-million monstrosity turns heads on showroom floor

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The “Puma†was designed by a Los Angeles plastic surgeon known only as “Dr. K. Youabian.† (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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The body, which looks like a cross-between a sports car and an armored tank, is nearly 8-feet wide and more than 20-feet long.   (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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“You can go places other cars can’t,†said Onnik Hovanesian, a production manager for the company. “It is the dream design of the car’s creator.† (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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It sits on those behemoth wheels that are 44 inches tall and 21 inches wide. No numbers were provided on just how much it weighs.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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Under the hood, you can find a 7.0-liter V8 engine packed with 505 horsepower. The company says it can go from zero to 60 mph time of 5.9 seconds.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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So far, Youabian has built just one. It took five years to build in a garage in Gardena. The Los Angeles Auto Show is the car’s debut.   (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
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Now, the company is taking orders. The cost? $1.1 million.   (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
By W.J. Hennigan
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Whenever the Los Angeles Auto Show comes to town, there are a wide range of autos that make it to the showroom floor.

Some are stunning. Some are innovative. Some are flat-out bizarre.

To many that are here getting a preview of the show, the blue monstrosity dubbed the Youabian Puma can be filed under the bizarre category.

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The Hummer-size convertible with sweeping curves and monster truck tires is right by the entrance. The Puma -- accompanied by a multicolored head shot of an actual puma -- has drawn a steady crowd since the doors opened Tuesday morning.

The body, which looks like a cross-between a sports car and a heavily armored tank, is nearly 8 feet wide and more than 20 feet long. It sits on wheels that are 44 inches tall and 21 inches wide. No numbers were provided on just how much it weighs.

With specs like that: “What do you do with it?†one onlooker remarked.

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“You can go places other cars can’t,†said Onnik Hovanesian, a production manager for the company. “It is the dream design of the car’s creator.â€

That designer? Los Angeles plastic surgeon known only as Dr. K. Youabian.

Under the hood, you can find a 7-liter V-8 engine packed with 505 horsepower. The company says it can go from zero to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds.

FULL COVERAGE: L.A. Auto Show 2013

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So far, Youabian has built just one. It took five years to build in a garage in Gardena. The Los Angeles Auto Show is the car’s debut.

“We didn’t think we’d make it,†Hovanesian said. “We didn’t think there was enough room.â€

Now, the company is taking orders. The cost? $1.1 million.

If you want one and can put down $250,000, contact them through their website. (Warning: It takes 18 months to build.)

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W.J. Hennigan

W.J. Hennigan covered the Pentagon and national security issues from Washington, D.C., before leaving the Los Angeles Times bureau in November 2017. While there, he reported on war, counter-terrorism, and the lives of American service members from more than two dozen countries and previously covered the aerospace and defense industry from Los Angeles. Hennigan earned awards from the National Press Club, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and was a contributor to the Los Angeles Times coverage of the terror attacks in San Bernardino that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2016.

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