Geneva show: Italdesign Zerouno just the start

ITALIAN design house Italdesign has confirmed that its own-brand ultra-limited supercar, Zerouno – revealed overnight at the Geneva motor show – will be just the first such product from its newly created venture, Italdesign Automobil Speciali.

The name is something of a giveaway, combining ‘zero’ with ‘uno’ (Italian for one), to represent model 01. What’s more, Italdesign says it is planning to come up with a new car bearing its own badge every 18-24 months from now on, produced out of the same workshops that build prototypes for major motor manufacturers.

Italdesign CEO Jorg Atalosch said Zerouno had been created to showcase the skills the company’s 1000 employees based on 49 years of experience to further develop the business.

“We will continue this story and every 18-24 months put ambitious and innovative concepts in an ultra-low series on the road to drive innovation forward so it can be experienced in daily life and to demonstrate the state of the art in technology for our customers,” he said.

Bearing design inspired by single-seater racers and powered by a 5.2-litre V10 engine from Italdesign joint owners Audi and Lamborghini, the Zerouno will have a production run of just five units by the end of this year, each going to a collector or “visionary enthusiast” for a price that, while undisclosed, is sure to be plenty.

Riding on a chassis of carbon-fibre and aluminium, the two-seat sports coupe is enveloped in a body fashioned entirely from carbon-fibre to meet a major goal of the design team: light weight.

Standing just 1204mm tall, the Zerouno is said to combine race car features with road-car necessities to enable type approval.

No power or torque figures were proffered, but 0-100km/h acceleration is a claimed 3.2 seconds and top speed is 330km/h – similar to the 449kW/560Nm 5.2-litre V10 Lamborghini Huracan that sells in Australia for $428,000 plus on-road costs.

Italdesign said its designers and engineers based at Nichelino, near Turin, in northern Italy, worked simultaneously on the project in a system that the company – founded by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro – claims it pioneered in the late 1960s.

Each of the five Zerouno customers will be offered “endless customisation” for their pride and joy, making each “truly unique”. These will include exterior finishes developed specially for each of the five owners, including one who wants a full carbon-fibre look.

The customers can opt for a track-only package, dubbed Corsa, containing race-style wings, special side mirrors, carbon-fibre monocoque seats, monodado wheel rims and titanium muffler.

The interior has copious amounts of polished carbon-fibre surfaces that, apart from looking sexy, saves weight on trim. Front and side airbags are included to enable road registration.

Pirelli has developed a special set of coloured P-Zero tyres – 245/30 R20 for the front and 305/30 R20 for the rear – in white, red, yellow and metallic grey for Zerouno.

Brakes have carbon-ceramic discs with eight-piston callipers at the front and six-piston at the back. Slots in the upper mudguards front and rear are designed to dissipate hot air from the brakes.

The twin exhaust tips are stretched horizontally, each 80cm wide, and fashioned from titanium.