New Zealand-based bespoke track car automaker Rodin Cars has announced its second model, the FZERO, will be going into production at its purpose-built facilities from 2023.
Dubbed as Rodin’s “most ambitious” car yet, the main intention behind the the FZERO is to be the “fastest car around track, without exception”. It’s not designed to go on public roads at all.
The New Zealand-based brand says it will have an FZERO prototype completed later this year, and will start production in the summer of 2023.
The upcoming Rodin FZERO will pick up where the company’s first car, the RZED open-wheel track car, took off.
Rodin Cars was founded by Australian tech entrepreneur David Dicker in 2016 and is located on a remote 550-hectare property in the South Island of New Zealand.
The company’s site is complete with a purpose-built manufacturing plant, “world-leading” 3D printing resources and three test tracks.
Rodin acquired the now-defunct Lotus T125 program around the same time it was founded and it “reimagined, redesigned and re-engineered” the open-wheeler concept from the program into its first car, the Rodin FZED.
Rodin first announced it was working on the FZERO three years ago, but it has now revealed production details and specifications for the track-only hypercar at a public unveil of “major completed vehicle components” at the company’s Donington Park showroom in England.
Only 27 units of the Rodin FZERO are planned for sale at a yet-to-be revealed price. Overseas reports indicate it will be priced around £1.8 million ($A3.13 million).
Powering the FZERO is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V10 engine developed from the ground up by Rodin and in conjunction with British racing engine manufacturer Neil Brown Engineering, as well as an electric motor.
This V10 engine is designed to be the “lightest and most compact V10 ever built” and it only weighs 132kg. It also has a screaming rev limit of 10,000 rpm.
Total system outputs for the Rodin FZERO are 865kW of power and 1026Nm of torque, with a projected top speed of more than 360 km/h.
This V10 hybrid powertrain is mated to an eight-speed transmission manufactured in conjunction Ricardo UK, and is encased in a 3D-printed titanium case. The transmission only weighs 66kg.
Measuring in at 5500mm long, 2200mm wide, and 1130mm wide with a 3000mm wheelbase, the FZERO is around the same length as a Mercedes-Maybach S680.
With a mind-boggling wet weight of just 698kg, the Rodin FZERO is expected to have a power-to-weight ratio of 1.24kW/kg.
Even though the FZERO weighs around 700kg, there are front and rear 380mm PFC Carbon-Carbon brakes with titanium calipers. There’s also regenerative braking from the hybrid system too.
The Rodin FZERO has 18-inch forged magnesium rims, manufactured in conjunction with OZ Racing are are “produced to F1 standards”. They measure 18 x 14-inches at the front and 18 x 16-inches at the rear.
The rims are wrapped in “race-spec full-slick” tyres developed by Avon and can be changed depending on the weather.
Thanks to a huge, Batmobile-esque rear wing and other aggressive aerodynamic elements, Rodin claims the FZERO is capable of producing up to 4000kg of downforce.
It’s expected the Rodin FZERO will be quicker around the track than the Formula 1-derived, road-going Mercedes-AMG One and Aston Martin Valkyrie, as well as the track-focused Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) T.50s Niki Lauda.
Rodin Cars New Zealand facility
The FZERO could also outpace the recently-teased Red Bull RB17 hybrid hypercar on the track too.
“The Rodin FZERO is the physical representation of the ultimate heights in vehicle performance,” said Rodin Cars founder David Dicker.
“Without the restrictions of building to a set of rules, we are able to make the car lighter, more powerful, and produce significantly more downforce.
“The only real restrictions we face are the laws of physics, and we have even pushed those to the absolute limit.
FZED
“We look forward to bringing the most intense driving experience conceivable to tracks around the world.”
As part of the process for buying a Rodin FZERO, customers will be able to customise specific aspects of the car based on their driving style and the track it’ll be used on.
Rodin owners also get access to custom racewear services, vehicle storage and delivery, and full driver training at its private race tracks.
Keyword: New Zealand-developed track hypercar to enter production