First it was Sweden with their bespoke and mind- warpingly quick Koenigsegg. But at least that was plausible, given Sweden’s long-standing stake in the automotive industry. Now it’s Denmark’s turn, with a car more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron and from what we know, just as expensive.
On a recent trip to Sweden via Copenhagen airport to drive the Koenigsegg CCX, we all agreed that Denmark has the world’s best hotdogs and more blondes than any of their Scandinavian neighbours.
But what we didn’t know at the time, was that the Danes had well and truly entered the Supercar business, in the form of the hand-built Zenvo ST1.
Folks from this part of the world don’t like to blow their own trumpet, which is probably why you’ve never heard of this thing.
We found out by accident. Moments before we were due to hop on a plane in Italy bound for Denmark, we read an email from the Koenisgsegg PR who said the client had taken his CCX to Spain, and well, there was no car to drive!
A quick Google search of “Danish supercars” revealed a surprise, and what’s more, it wasn’t far from the rather average pension we were holed up in.
The guy on the other end of the phone said the Zenvo was real all right, but that they were bypassing the prototype phase, and going straight into production, which meant, we were a month too early for a test drive.
In the end, Koenigsegg called us way too early in the morning to be anything but important news, to say that she had a car we could use, so the Zenvo was placed in our archives and forgotten about.
That was a pity, because with its 7-litre turbo and supercharged V8 pumping out a head-spinning 1,103bhp (822kW) or 103bhp more than the Veyron, the Zenvo ST1 is absloutely the real deal.
Torque output at 1,430 Nm is simply off the charts, and when working in concert with that outrageous power figure, acceleration from 0-100km/h should (will) be less than three seconds, and substantially so.
But keep your right foot hard up against the firewall for just 8.9 seconds, and you’ll see 200km/h on the dial. That’s rocket ship quick.
Top speed has been electronically limited to a mere 374km/h, for safety reasons!
Wider than a Lamborghini Murcielago, and longer than a Porsche Carrera GT, the Zenvo STI is the definition of extreme.
Designed by Christian Brandt, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, his brief was to make the car look fearsome. We think he followed his instructions to the letter.
Supercars are usually 80 percent sports car and 20 percent race car, but Zenvo boss Jesper Jensen, wanted 40 percent race car.
He said, “It wasn’t important to be the fastest car in the world, we didn’t want to be compromised in the wind tunnel”.
As you would expect of a supercar with a price tag north of AUD1.3 million, carbon-fibre makes up the body panels on a steel chassis, while the transmission is an oil-cooled six-speed manual using a Zenvo developed twin-plate clutch.
Suspension is an exotic double-wishbone set-up on all four corners, and the top shelf adjustable gas-hydraulic shocks are by Ohlins.
Massive 335/30 tyres on 20-inch rims help put the lethal dose of power to the ground, as it’s not so light at 1376 kilograms.
Inside the cabin looks as good as anything from Pagani or Koenigsegg, with superbly styled switchgear and layer upon layer of Alcantara and leather.
Just 15 Zenvo ST1’s will make up the first series production although, we have heard that there are several more models on the way, including a slightly more affordable car.
CarAdvice hopes to be able to bring you a review and video of the Zenvo ST1 next year.
