Friday 13th May 2011

Zagato-Penned Perana Z-one In Production

Dashing South African supercar could land in UK this summer

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Looks like the new Aston Martin concept due at Villa D'Este won't be the only Zagato-styled coupe to see the light of day this summer - production of this, the South African-built Perana Z-one is underway as we write, and the car could make its UK debut at the Festival of Speed in early July.

The Zagato-styled Z-one (which made its debut at the Geneva show a couple of years ago) will be built in limited numbers (mind you, 999 are planned, so they're not all that 'limited') and, should you fancy one, Mole Valley Specialist Cars (go on, give them a Google) will be selling them in Blighty for a whisker under £70k.

For that you get all the VAT included, and such GT-style niceties as air-con, a touch-screen infotainment and sat-nav system, bigger Brembo brakes than the standard offering, and optional Recaro seats. There is also, we are told, an extensive and expanding options list, so that final price is no doubt rather a fluid figure.

The really important bit, though, is the fact that for your money you also get a 442bhp 6.2-litre V8 (that'd be an LS3 GM motor, then) coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox and a ZF limited-slip differential. That should be enough, reckons Perana, to wallop 60mph in less than 4.0secs.

That's a lot of pace to deal with, but the knowledge that a certain Mr Lee Noble had a hand in the chassis set-up should provide more than a modicum of reassurance.

It all sounds quite juicy to us, but it's a bit of a shame that this new Perana has nothing to do with the company that famously and hilariously plonked large V8s under the bonnets of Capris in the early 1970s. Mind you, Hi-Tech automotive, the company that is building the Z-one has its fair share of performance car cred, as it builds superb GT40 and Shelby Daytona replicas for US marque Superformance.

General Data
Curb Weight - (2631 lbs) 1195 kg
Weight Distribution - Front: 50%
Rear: 50%
Wheelbase - (100") 2540 mm
Track - Front: (64") 1627 mm
- Rear: (62") 1570 mm
Length - (173.5") 4406 mm
Height - (48.5") 1233 mm
Width - (75.75") 1924 mm
Accommodation

Seating Capacity - 2
Head Room - (39.5") 1005mm
Leg Room - (43.3") 1100mm
Seat Travel - (8.3") 210mm
Engine

Configuration - V8, All Aluminium
Displacement - (376 cu in.) 6200 cc
Power - (442 hp) 330 kW
Torque - (430 lb-ft) 583 Nm
Max. rpm - 6600 rpm
Fuel Delivery - Fuel Injection. Electronic, Sequential Port
Compression Ratio - 10.7: 1
Drive train

Gearbox - 6 speed manual

Gear Ratio Max. Speed (rpm)
1st 2.66:1 89 km/h (6500rpm)
2nd 1.78:1 133 km/h (6500rpm)
3rd 1.3:1 182 km/h (6500rpm)
4th 1:1 236km/h (6500rpm)
5th 0.79:1 299km/h (6500rpm)
6th 0.63:1 299km/h (5500rpm)

Differential - ZF Limited Slip
Wheels

Perana / Zagato - Front: 18 x 10J
- Rear: 19 x 12J
Tyres

Michelin PS2 - Front: 275/35 ZR18
- Rear: 345/30 ZR19
Chassis

Layout - Front/Mid Engine
Rear Drive
Frame - Steel Tube Space Frame
Body - Vinyl-Ester Composite
Brakes - Front: (12.8") 325mm
2-piston sliding calipers
Rear: (12.0") 305mm
1-piston sliding calipers
Assist type - Vacuum
Steering - ZF Power Assist
Suspension - Front: Unequal Length A-arms, Eibach springs,
Bilstein shocks, Anti-roll bar
Rear: Unequal length A-arms, Eibach springs,
Bilstein shocks, Anti-roll bar
Fuel Capacity - (22.5 gal) 85 litre
Performance

Power/weight ratio - (328 hp/tonne) 240 kW/tonne
0 - 100km/h - sub 4 secs. (Estimated)
0 - 160km/h - sub 10 secs. (Estimated)
Braking - 38m from 100km/h (Estimated)

 

[anonymous-user]

Can't make my mind up with this one.
Sort of Spyker crossed with a TVR. If I win euromillions tonight I might buy one though.

[rpguk]

Very pretty, the first picture reminds me of the Aston One-77

[DrewBot]

I like it from the front, particularly in white, but I think the rear looks sad

[thejudderman]

Very nice overall, kind of TVR T350/Maserati Granturismo is what I saw when I first looked, but once you look at it closer it seems more individual than that... Impossibly high waist line towards the rear for one!

While I appreciate the cost and ease of using a US sourced crate motor, I wish manufacturers would try and source something a little more imaginative. It's tried and tested sure, but you can buy 1001 similar low volume manufacturer cars with US muscle engines (one of the things I like about Noble's for example, a twin turbo ford duratec 3.0 V6, or now a twin turbo 4.4 Volvo V8) that make pretty low power for their large capacities (due to being a 2 valve, single cam, push rod type engine more than likely).

Overall though, aside from the predictable engine choice, looks good to me.

[Agoogy]

classy and well executed...but god talk about one trick pony design house....especially in last 10-20 years...
Gaping gob, double bubble roof, high wasted rising rear where rear 3/4 window meets rear screen... and repeat with lovley curves and stuff... add wheels...

[cc8s]

thejudderman said:

Very nice overall, kind of TVR T350/Maserati Granturismo is what I saw when I first looked,

I thought Granturismo/Typhon. And that isn't a bad thing I think it looks like but not perfect, imho.

[Stew2000]

DrewBot said:

I like it from the front, particularly in white, but I think the rear looks sad

I agree fully. It reminds me of the War of the Worlds martian. so sad..

[LoftyD]

Agoogy said:

classy and well executed...but god talk about one trick pony design house....especially in last 10-20 years...
Gaping gob, double bubble roof, high wasted rising rear where rear 3/4 window meets rear screen... and repeat with lovley curves and stuff... add wheels...

Completely agree with your feelings about Zagato being a one trick pony. There also seems to be little regard for the different dimensions of donor vehicles when designing Zagato editions of existing cars. Simply lavishing the same features across them all results in many an awkward mess.

[Risotto]

As above, the typical Zagato cues are all there. Looks like the front of a Spyker and the rear of a Bristol Fighter to me. That rear quarter line looks a bit high, but not a bad effort, just very generic.

Occasionally they try something different:



But reaction always seems poor and they go back to doing big grilles and bubble roofs. Personally, I really like the Aston...

[Agoogy]

The one in the background..its that isn't it?...oh no..my mistake..

or a cross between the two...

[Junglehop]

front yes... rear no

[Hendry]

I saw a Marcos TSO:

[RJDM3]

Hendry said:

I saw a Marcos TSO:

Agreed

However this will be built properly

[igeorge]

I saw the rolling chassis at the PE factory about 2 years ago, and it looked really lovely in the flesh. They were fixing my m400 after I bent the nose at a trackday

Interesting to see the pricing re the Q1, also available here...
Ian

[GTRene]

price around 70K incl vat?
that looks like a seller then...
its different, its fast, its timeless by shape...
sounds good/fair to me

[igeorge]

It's also the first Hitec car to be produced using CAD completely (ie incl the body molds), so that the fit and alignment of the body panels will be even better than the Noble and Rossion...

[alexpa]

I like it! Nice price too

[soad]

Really like it!

[British Beef]

Loving the looks and the drivetrain sounds perfect, any interior pics?

£70k sounds reasonable for this assuming it is put together nicely.

Badge and lack of dealers may limit market perhaps???

[bertie]

Looks great, intersting to see how they've done the interior, that's what lets a lot of these small volume jobs down.

By the way, by "curb weight" I presume you mean "Kerb weight?"