Zenvo ST1 is a great Dane

START-UP Danish supercar company Zenvo Automotive says it will launch its stunning limited-edition ST1 later this year, and reports suggest it will be priced at about €750,000 ($A1.5 million).

Only 15 of the amazing hand-built ST1s will be produced and sold “to special approved customers”.

Powering the incredible supercar is a 7.0-litre V8 engine, thought to be based on the Corvette Z06, which is both turbocharged and supercharged to produce an astounding 810kW of power at 6900rpm and – wait for it – 1430Nm of torque at 4500rpm.

With carbon-fibre body panels and a steel frame chassis, the ST1 weighs in at 1376kg, providing a power-to-weight ratio of 598kW per tonne.

Zenvo has set a target 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 3.0 seconds, which would put it ahead of just about every supercar other than the Bugatti Veyron, and initial performance testing of the prototype in October last year showed they are in the right territory with a run of 3.2 seconds.

“For a first test, this was acceptable,” said the company in a brief statement, which also noted a 0-200km/h time of 8.9 seconds.



The ST1’s top speed is electronically limited at 375km/h, so the Veyron’s 407km/h maximum appears safe as the industry benchmark, but Zenvo co-founder Jesper Jensen reckons the final production version will go higher.

“Perhaps we have been a bit cautious, but we didn’t want to exaggerate the car’s capability,” Mr Jenson told Britain’s Sunday Times. “The top speed, for example … I think we can go quite a bit faster than the figure we are currently quoting.

“With this much power, traction is always an issue, but we have developed our own two-stage traction and stability system.

“In the normal mode, my wife could simply get in and drive this car. In ‘beast’ mode – I’m sorry, I haven’t thought of a better name for it yet – it is a challenging car, and it will spin its wheels in fourth gear if you are trying hard enough.”Mr Jensen admitted there has been a wall of secrecy around the project and will not even say exactly where the firm’s base is located.

“We realised that Denmark had no design or engineering heritage in this field, which was why we didn’t reveal anything at all until we were 100 per cent ready. We didn’t want to make promises we could not keep.

“Look, we’re Danish. Which means we respect deadlines and know how to deliver something on budget.”Driving through a six-speed manual transmission and Zenvo-developed twin-plate clutch, the ST1’s enormous power is fed to the rear wheels with the help of a hydraulic limited slip differential as well as the switchable ESC system.

Sitting just 105mm off the ground – or 150mm when lifted hydraulically to get over speed humps – the ST1 has a pure double-wishbone racing suspension front and rear with Ohlins gas-hydraulic shock absorbers.

Stopping the beast are, as you would expect, massive power-assisted brakes consisting of ventilated steel discs front (380mm) and rear (355mm), operated by six-piston callipers all-round. If that’s not enough, buyers wanting to tackle the Nurburgring can option the car up with 394mm ceramic discs all round with eight-piston callipers.

Wheels are light alloy 19x9.5-inch units at the front and mighty 20x12.5 units at the rear, mounted with Michelin 255/35 front and 335/30 rear tyres.

The ST1 sits on a wheelbase of 3055mm and casts quite a shadow at 4665mm long and 2041mm wide, but is just 1198mm high and carries a 69-litre fuel tank that will undoubtedly need to be replenished at regular intervals, though there are no consumption figures available yet.

If you plan on buying a ST1 and going away for the weekend, you had better pack tightly because the luggage capacity is a miniscule 130 litres – about half as much as a Porsche Boxster – but you can get an optional custom-fitted luggage set to help out.

And don’t go crashing the thing unless you get the optional rollcage and four-point race harnesses because there are only two airbags on board to protect the driver and passenger.

At least the Zenvo is well-appointed inside, with dual-zone climate control, cruise control, keyless entry and push-button start, electrically adjustable driver and passenger “racing” seats, leather upholstery, satellite navigation, manual-tilt and power-reach adjustable steering wheel, power windows, a head-up display system (with a G-force meter if you are game to even momentarily divert your attention from the road), an auto-dimming interior mirror and a “three-mode driver settings” system that presumably alters the suspension.

Zenvo Automotive was founded in 2004 with the sole aim of producing a unique hand-built supercar by Jenson and engineer Troells Vollertsen – whose names were mashed together to create the brand name.

The ST1 design was signed-off in February 2008. Dyno testing began in May, the first running prototype hit the bitumen in May and the final production-ready prototype entered its last stages of performance testing in December.

Its remarkable exterior styling is the work of former Alfa Romeo designer Christian Brandt.