Set to be built under the newly created Italdesign Automobili Speciali marque, the 330kph carbon fiber street-legal racer will be limited to just five bespoke examples and, according to the company's CEO Jörg Astalosch, each will be a car intended for "collectors and visionary enthusiasts."
"We created the ZeroUno to demonstrate the best skills of our 1,000 employees based on 49 years of experience," said Astalosch.
The automotive history books are littered with stories of small, bespoke companies trying — and largely failing — to go toe-to-toe with the luxury car or supercar elite, but what will help the ZeroUno buck the trend is that it marries Italdesign's formidable aesthetics and packaging skills with complete, open access to everything that its owner, Volkswagen, has to offer. For example, the wonderful 5.2-litre V10 that forms the car's beating heart and enables it to cover the 0-100kph dash in 3.2 seconds is a very close relation to the one found in the Audi R8.
The Zerouno car. - All pix by Reuters
However, thanks to the car's unique aerodynamic profile, it promises to have its own handling and behaviour profiles that differ greatly from those of any Audi.
"The exterior is characterised by the two sides of the same coin," said Filippo Perini, Head of Innovation Design at Italdesign. "Above the tornado line, surfaces are distinctly softer and smoother in keeping with the Italian Gran Turismo tradition. The lower part is modelled by aerodynamics. To achieve the performances we had in mind, we had to dare to go beyond all limits in styling and even from a purely technical points of view."
Therefore, the large ducts at the front and the scoops in the door sills, as well as the complex diffuser array at the car's rear are all there for maximizing performance but they've been realised in a way that isn't jarring on the eye.
And while only five of these cars will be built, each of which in a bespoke color mixed to the client's exact specifications, the ZeroUno is meant to serve as the shape of things to come.
"We will continue this story and put every 18-24 months 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," said Astalosch.
