You have supercars, you have hypercars, and then you have the new Rodin FZERO … Rodin Cars call it a hypercar, but this reminds me more of those Gran Turismo Vision prototypes from Lamborghini and Bugatti, the Rodin FZERO is a closed canopy, single-seater hypercar powered by a 4-Liter V10 engine delivering over 1,000 hp that can take this impressive behemoth up to 224 mph (or 360 km/h for metric readers), and I don’t think there is anything else on the market today that compares to the bespoke styling of the FZERO.
The Rodin FZERO is an in-house development, the modern facilities for Rodin Cars are located near Mount Lyford, South Island, New Zealand, and get this, they even have their own test track, more specifically three purpose-built test circuits next to their own production facility, the design of this new Rodin FZERO is by the hand of David Dicker, a keen race driver, and tech-billionaire, he even created the bespoke twin-turbo V10 engine found in this mono seater, he is so confident in what they created that he took the wheel of the FZERO prototype for the initial shake-down tests on their track.
Dicker stated: “While there’s a long road ahead of testing and development, running the FZERO for the first time gives me immense pride in what everyone at Rodin Cars has achieved in bringing this programme to life. The test went very well and we were able to work through our programme. We’re excited as the FZERO project enters its next phase. It really is a car like no other.”
The Rodin FZERO closed-cockpit hypercar has been created with a single focus in mind: the raw emotion of speed, together with a rarely seen performance capable of standing up against some of the most celebrated cars in the automotive roam, like the Aston Martin with their Valkyrie, the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 Niki Lauda, or the Mercedes-AMG One, thanks to the RC.TEN engine, a twin-turbo V10 unit with a 4-liter displacement capable of 1,013 bhp (755 kW) at a screaming 9,500 rpm at 11psi of boost, Rodin is even developing a naturally aspirated version of this bespoke V10 at the time or writing.
Emma Duncan, Rodin Cars General Manager said, “Seeing the FZERO effortlessly take to the track was an inspirational moment. The car represents engineering excellence and is truly a masterpiece. This is a pivotal development for the future of Rodin Cars.”
This prototype of the Rodin FZERO is powered by one of two prototype engines that have been built by Niel Brown Engineering in the UK, but subsequent engines will be completely built in-house in New Zealand, Rodin is even contemplating having this powerplant available as a crate engine for motorsport teams worldwide, Dicker even has aspirations to compete in F1 with his own car, but an initial attempt has been denied by the FIA, but I’m sure he’ll be back to try again in the future.
Make sure to check out the official video below from Rodin Cars as they take out the first prototype onto the track:
