You likely haven't heard of Rodin, but the New Zealand-based company wants to make some noise.
The startup automaker has presented its vision for a futuristic-looking race car for the street called the F-Zero. The "Zero" in the name stands for "zero restrictions."
Naturally, there will need to be some if Rodin wants to put the car on the street. Even then, the company plans to build an F-Zero specifically for the track so that nothing can hold it back.
Rodin F-Zero
The first production car is being built right now, but renderings give us a look at what Rodin has in mind. The front seems reminiscent of Formula One ground effects, while we see a little bit of Chapparral 2J in the rear with the way it kicks up nice and tall. Obviously, there aren't any controversial fans to boost the car's speed.
Power here comes from a 4.0-liter V-10 with four overhead cams. Without turbos, Rodin said to expect around 700 horsepower, but a twin-turbo version will crack 1,000 hp. A sequential 8-speed transmission from Ricardo will hustle the power to the rear wheels. For the street version, look for a dual-clutch automatic. In any case, the company wants the car to do 225 mph.
Building cars costs a lot of money and Rodin thinks it has the solution with an innovative 3D printing process. Otherwise, it plans to outsource components, such as the ABS system and brakes from Bosch and Brembo, respectively.
Rodin FZED
Should all go according to plan, the racing version of the F-Zero will bow at the end of 2019. The car for the street will appear in 2020 at some point and cost around $1 million.
If that's too rich, Rodin will sell you a bit of a skunkworks project born from the ashes of Lotus. The company purchased a failed Lotus racing car project dubbed the T125 Exos. Rodin has since renamed it the FZED and fitted a 3.8-liter Cosworth V-8 with 675 hp and priced it out the door at $675,000.