Top Auto road tests the latest model to roll off the production line at Helsinki’s Bleep Factory.
First Impression
Wow, this little baby can really move. Finland’s K-X-P have put together their first effort, and the time and effort pay off in no uncertain terms. Motoring along at speed, the K-X-P feels solid and stylish. The Finnish design team have certainly gone to town in the build quality, ensuring that this really is all that a top-end electronic product should be: slick, sexy and with immoral intentions on its mind. Make no mistake, the K-X-P has only one thing on its mind, getting onto the dance-floor and then into your pants.
Chassis
The chassis is a sturdy construction, a modern update of the never-bettered German ‘lange gerade’ (issued there as the ‘motorik’ but renamed the ‘Apache Beat’ for the British market), which was designed in Hamburg in 1971 by the renowned Klaus Dinger. Interestingly, the influence of the British constructors of that same era, most notably The Glitter Band, can also be detected on the belting Glam-esque stomp-a-thon “18 Hours.” The track handles very much like, say, “Gasoline Man,” built by Swiss firm The Young Gods in the early 1990s, using technology pioneered by the British-based Pink Floyd on “One Of These Days.” On “New World,” there are even faint after-echoes of the improvised models built in the late 1960s by pioneering American manufacturers Silver Apples.
Video for “18 Hours (Of Love).”
Performance
Sporting a formidable 6.0 litre V12 engine, the K-X-P can accelerate to an impressive top speed. From the rumbling “Elephant Man,” which reaches across to grope at your crotch as you try to change gear, the K-X-P shifts up through the strutting “Labirynth” – Look out! Swerve to avoid a Gary Numan that has just shot out into the road – to the rockbound “Pockets,” during which Sonic Boom tries to overtake in his late model Spacemen 3, although the K-X-P just beats him to the finish line.
Interior
With a range of textures, from the spacey swell of “Aibal Dub” to the moody throbbing pulse of “Mehu Moments,” the K-X-P makes you want to just sink back into the fine leather upholstery and drink it all in. Anyone sitting next to you in the passenger seat is going to be tapping their foot uncontrollably and brushing their hand delicately along the trim in appreciation.
Quality
Beautifully put together, the K-X-P takes its place proudly in a modern post-1980s lineage that stretches from Add N to (X) to LCD Soundsystem, without ever feeling too close to either.
Overall Verdict
The K-X-P may not be packed with innovative features, but the design team have put the component parts together with such élan and such whole-hearted devotion that you just cannot help but smile at the results. At several points it’s hard to resist the almost-overwhelming urge to just punch the air. Put the roof down and your foot to the floor; let the wind rush through your hair as you race down open country roads. Sure the odd vole or hedgehog might pay the ultimate price under your wheels, but you’ll be turning more than one head as you roar past, and, talking of head, let your mind flash forward to what’s going to happen in bed later on; one thing’s for sure, this will be the perfect soundtrack for both activities.-Jeremy Klaxon-
| Technical Specifications | |
| Manufactured | Finland, 2010 |
| Designers | Timo Kaukolampi (electronics, vocals), Tuomo Puranen (bass and keyboards) Anssi Nykänen (drums) Tomi Leppanen (drums). The design team are also recognised for their noted work with, amongst others, Annie, Jimi Tenor, Aavikko and Circle. |
| Length | 41.49 (8 tracks) |
