The Rodin FZERO smashed the quietness of the South Island of New Zealand to pieces. The hypercar was taken to the race track for the test and development stage.
Unveiled last year, the model has just made its track debut in its homeland, New Zealand. The Rodin FZERO may lead you into believing it is a zero-emission vehicle. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. It is set in motion by a 4.0-liter V10 RC.TEN engine, which generates 1,013 horsepower (1,026 PS) with only 11psi of boost for a top speed of 223.7 mph (360 kph). Rodin has a naturally aspirated version of the power unit in development.
Neil Brown Engineering built two engine prototypes in the United Kingdom. The two of them were manufactured in-house at the Rodin Cars facility. Rodin is planning to offer the RC.TEN as a crate engine for motor racing applications.
Designed and manufactured in New Zealand, the closed-cockpit FZERO is an open-wheel, single-seat track hypercar. It is the second project developed by Rodin Cars at its state-of-the-art facility near Mount Lyford. It includes three purpose-built test circuits as well as a high-tech production facility.
The one who is behind the project is David Dicker, tech billionaire and keen racer. He was the one driving the FZERO on its first track outing and shared impressions on the experience. He says that "it really is a car like no other." And he is also the one who designed the V10 that powers the hypercar.
Photo: Rodin Cars
The car returned to the pits after its first stint for a team debrief, before going back on the circuit where it spend the remainder of the day, adding up mile after mile for the first of many such stints to come before the model goes into production and goes racing.
The members of the time lined the circuit during their lunch break to watch the FZERO being put through its paces. “Outrageous levels of performance and dynamism” - this is how the team members describe what they have seen at the track. The model comes to give track-only hypercars from Aston Martin, Gordon Murray Automotive, or Mercedes-AMG a run for their money.
The FZERO will be on display at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, from December 7 to 9, 2023.
Rodin Cars introduced their first track-only model back in 2021. The Formula 1-inspired FZED was based on a 2012 Lotus Type 125 concept car and was powered by a retuned Cosworth V8 engine, capable of developing 675 horsepower (684 PS). The FZERO was set to make official track debut in 2023, but development took a little longer than originally expected. So we should see it go racing next year. Rodin is only going to build 27 examples, but there is no word on pricing just yet.
Google News