[Video] Extreme Rodin FZero hits the track for the first time | GRR
It’s been little more than a year since Rodin Cars introduced us to its FZero track monster – a machine designed to deliver more performance than an F1 car – and now it’s defied sceptics by making its track debut.
And it sounds incredible. While the footage amounts to little more than a low-speed sighting lap, the noise of the FZero's V10 chuntering and reverberating with an earthy mechanical howl will transport F1 fans back to the early 2000s. Just imagine what it will sound like at full chat. Regardless, the noise bodes well for a car still in its ‘test and development’ stage at the company’s own test track.
The FZero is Rodin’s second go at a track car; its predecessor, the FZed, was an open-wheeled single-seater. According to the company, the FZero is “magnitudes more ambitious,” with a closed wheel and cockpit design allowing for a top speed of 224mph.
Power comes from Rodin’s RC.Ten twin-turbocharged V10, which was built in the UK by David Brown Engineering before the company brought the work in-house. It produces 1,028PS (755kW) at 9,500rpm and 11psi of boost pressure.
The car is the brainchild of company CEO and Australian tech billionaire David Dicker, who dreams of building a machine to rival track-only hypercars like the Mercedes-AMG One and Aston Martin Valkyrie.
It’s a bold aim that sounds more likely when you dig into the FZero’s specs. Rodin is targeting a wet weight of just 698kg – or 100kg less than a current F1 car – and the car will, according to the company, be capable of generating more than four tonnes of downforce.
It all adds up to a scintillating prospect and one we’ll watch closely. Will the FZero succeed, or will it be another broken dream to add to the ever growing mountain of failed hypercars? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, the car will be on display at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, USA, from 7th-9th December.