Aznom Palladium Super-Sedan Looks Out of Place in any City

Created by an Italian company specialized in bespoke passenger cars and one-offs, the Palladium is based on a Ram 1500 chassis, so it’s the only modern luxury sedan using a body-on-frame architecture.

With a length of 5960 mm (234.6 in) and a height of 1971 mm (77.6 in), you would think that seeing one on the streets of a busy European city would be like watching an elephant trying to fit inside a studio apartment. As it happens, you would be right.

Since pretty much everything underneath that oddly shaped body is essentially identical to the fifth-generation RAM Pickup Quad-Cab, the designers really pulled their weight in transforming a utilitarian vehicle into something that at least mildly resembles a (humongous) luxury sedan.

That said, engineers also had their work cut out, with the resulting body needing to be dropped by about 30 mm compared to the original Ram Pickup.

A supplemental steel cage was fitted at the rear to improve torsional stiffness and allow for the bed to be transformed into part of the four-passenger cockpit and an oddly-shaped trunk compartment.

The suspension was modified as well, with Aznom mentioning that the new shock absorbers have been developed exclusively for the Palladium and can be set in 30 different configurations.

“We have produced this vehicle choosing artisanal manufacturing techniques that are almost lost today, such as panel beating and hand-crafting the body of the car, together with other technological solutions – said Aznom’s founder Marcello Meregalli– engine builders, tanners, panel beaters, designers and engineers who have worked on this project are heirs to a tradition that has made Italian cars famous all around the world.”

In other words, the long lost art of coachbuilding is not truly dead, and it only needed an American pickup truck and some Italian designers to make it part of the present again.

If you thought the luxury behemoth is put into motion by the original 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine you would only be partly correct, because Aznom has almost completely transformed the powerplant.

Forged pistons, new H-beam rods and reinforced valve springs were installed, while the valves themselves have been replaced by some made from a super-alloy called Nimonic. Last, but definitely not least, a redesigned exhaust system made from 307 high-strength steel was needed for the two BorgWagner turbochargers that were added to the V8.

Two air-to-water intercoolers, rebalanced camshaft and driveshaft and more powerful injectors complete the package, which is now good for 710 horsepower and 950 Nm (700 lb-ft) of torque. All of that oomph is sent either to the rear axle or all four wheels, depending on each customer's specification.

Those numbers are good for a 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) acceleration of just 4.5 seconds from the 2,650 kg (5,842 pounds) luxury leviathan, which is limited electronically to 210 kph (130 mph). Not that anyone would ever need to go much faster in what is essentially a land yacht.

That said, to keep things in check, Aznom engineers have fitted the front axle with massive ventilated discs measuring 408x34 mm, coupled with Brembo six-piston calipers, while at the back the four piston calipers work with slightly smaller but still massive 380x28 mm discs. Those numbers are better than on some thoroughbred sports cars, mind you.

Only ten Palladium super-sedans will ever be made, each customized to the tiniest of details for each individual customer. No pricing has been made available, but considering this is essentially a concept car for the road, a six-figure starting price shouldn't be entirely unexpected. We're guessing that a cool quarter million might get you a pretty well-specced Palladium, while also making you the person with the most interesting car in your rich friends group.