Trident Iceni is road-ready
BY DAVID HASSALL | 29th Aug 2008
Although powered by a mighty GM-sourced 6.6-litre turbo-diesel engine, the $170,000 Trident Iceni has a unique eight-speed automatic transmission that enables the car to cruise at 113km/h with the engine ticking over at just 980rpm.
Testing at the Millbrook proving ground in the UK shows that this results in a fuel consumption figure of only 4.0L/100km when cruising at that speed, providing a cruising range of more than 3000km.
Open up the throttle, though, and the lightweight Trident will accelerate from a standing start to 100km/h in a blistering four seconds, putting it up with the elite of the supercar world.
Trident claim that, while electric cars will be an excellent solution for city use, the Iceni is an environmentally-friendly supercar designed using current technology for people living in rural areas who travel on the motorways.
Chief designer Phil Bevan says the secret to the car is “torque multiplication”.
“A 2.5-litre diesel engine hammering down the M4 at 4200rpm is not very efficient. With modification, it could be doing it at 1000rpm. Diesel engines are torque-rich, but brake horsepower-poor.
“(Horsepower) is a myth. The most important thing is optimising the efficiency of an engine. In Formula One, the optimum rev point is 18,000rpm, which means that all gearchanges occur at this figure. With the Iceni, it is 3500rpm.” Mr Bevan said that a big engine doing no work is more efficient than a smaller engine doing lots of work.
Trident first started building sports cars in the 1960s and produced more than 100 vehicles before production stopped in 1978, but was revived by Lola racing car founder Eric Broadley in 1999 to develop the Iceni, which was originally slated to have a 3.2-litre GM petrol engine.
Trident has had a few false starts as a company over the past decade, including a British International Motor Show debut appearance in 2000, where deposits were even taken, but the latest revival began in 2006 when a prototype took to the track and contested the British GT series.
The latest owners have invested 2.3 million pounds ($4.9 million) in developing the Iceni and making it production-ready without any British government assistance.
The company has applied for grants from a number of agencies established to promote and develop more environmentally friendly motoring, but has received nothing, despite having what it claims is a solution to the amount of emissions that diesel vehicles produce.
Modifying the GM 6.6-litre V8 turbo-diesel has resulted in a power output of 280kW at 3100rpm and a maximum torque figure of 705Nm at 1800rpm, with a rev limit of only 4500rpm.
It is mounted in the front of the car, but behind the axle-line, while the Bevan-designed eight-speed automatic gearbox – which is made in the US and is sealed for life – is located in the rear to improve weight distribution.
A monocoque chassis made from folded stainless steel (which is guaranteed against corrosion for 100 years), forged aluminium front and rear suspension and a separate kevlar-carbon fibre composite body enable the car to weigh in at 1220kg.
With a wheelbase of 2640mm, the Iceni sits just 1140mm high and rides on 20-inch alloy wheels (8.5-inch wide at the front and 9.5-inch at the rear).
Inside the leather-trimmed interior, the seats are rigidly mounted, but the pedal box and steering wheel can be adjusted to suit the driver. The suspension is also fully adjustable.
With a projected price of around 75,000 pounds, the car has four removable ‘oculight’ roof panels so it converts into a targa top, while the boot will not only hold a reasonable amount of luggage but (Trident claims) two golf bags.
It also comes with more equipment that most other low-volume British sports cars like the old TVRs, including ABS brakes, traction control, paddle shifts, full leather interior, electric windows, central locking, satellite-navigation, MP3 and Bluetooth compatibility, a rear-view camera and even power steering.
And where does the name come from? Well, apparently the Iceni were a tribe in the Norfolk area from around the 1st century BC, but we’re sure you already knew that.