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When a car company sets out to make an “exclusive” car, you can bet what they really mean is “expensive.” And while you can spend as much on a car as you have in your bank account, some cars just go over the top with exclusivity and price. Like the Zenvo ST1, a super rare car of which there are just 15 examples.
Now a special North American edition of the ST-1, called the ST1 50S, is coming to America, reports Autoblog. And for a price of $1.8 million you get a one-of-three car (one white, one red, one blue), a fancy Aspen watch, and… a Corvette Z06 motor?
When we first heard about the ST1 last fall, it was powered by a 1,100 horsepower supercharged and turbocharged 7.0 liter Z06 engine. However, the press release accompanying the Autoblog article states (imagine a Dutch accent);
NOT TO BE MISTAKEN FOR AN OFF THE SHELF V8
Woah, OK there Dirk, we get it, this isn’t some off-the-shelf engine. We believe you, even though it shares the same displacement (7.0 liters), bore (104.8 mm), stroke (101.6 mm), and number of valves (16). There is also a huge aftermarket supporting these engines that makes big power like Zenvo is claiming actually quite an easy affair. Then consider that designing an engine from scratch costs hundreds of millions of dollars, and even with the ST1’s astronomical price tag, it’d be impossible to make any money back, and we have our doubts. Maybe they have their own exclusive cylinder head or intake design? We don’t know if they do, as it isn’t mentioned in their press release, though supercharging and turbocharging an engine is quite an undertaking.
We’re not saying they’re overcharging for the ST1 or anything, because there really isn’t anything else on the planet like it. Hell, the exclusive Aspen watch costs $49,000 alone, about the price of an entire Corvette. The ST1 looks like a million bucks (though it costs close to twice that.) But we’re still left wondering why they wouldn’t want people to know that underneath all the glitz and glamour is an award-winning engine design with a stout reputation for durability and big horsepower.
Maybe they just want people to know that they did most of the work themselves, that they didn’t outsource the job to some engine shop. And if they did design it all by themselves, well, tell us about it! Engine nerds need to know. But hey, it’s their car, not ours, though we’re still pretty sure we know what is really under the hood. Full press release included below, so you can judge for yourself.
Official Release
ZENVO ST-1 NORTH AMERICAN SPECIAL EDITION ANNOUNCEMENT JUNE 2011
Zenvo Automotive and Red Sea Distribution today have announced that they will be offering a North American Special Edition of the Mighty Zenvo ST-1.
The Zenvo ST-1 is the creation of Denmark’s first Supercar manufacturer Zenvo Automotive.
The Zenvo ST-1 with a limited run of 15 units produces 1104hp and 1430NM of torque, 0-100kmh in 3.0 seconds with a LIMITED top speed of 375kmh. With gear changes taken care of by a 6 speed manual transmission or an optional F1 paddle shift 7 speed transmissions. The power plant for the Zenvo ST-1 is Zenvo’s own design 7ltr supercharged and turbo charged V8 (NOT TO BE MISTAKEN FOR AN OFF THE SHELF V8).
Many years of testing commenced before the launch of the production cars in 2010. Jesper Jensen, co-owner and founder of Zenvo Automotive can be quoted as saying ” We never set out to create the most reliable supercar, but it seems now that we have!
Due to the huge success of the ST-1, Zenvo has worked with Red Sea Distribution (Exclusive North American Distributor of Zenvo) to create a the Zenvo ST-1 50S.
The ST-1 50S is limited to just 3 cars.
The 3 ST-1 50S’s will be available exclusively through Red Sea Distribution. They will be only these 3 offered ever in this specification.
Specification
– 3 ST-1 50S available in the following colours 1 x Intense Red, 1 x Crystal White and 1 x Mediterranean Blue.
– Individually numbered vehicles with Special Edition Plaque signed by the engineers and owners.
– Special individual Monogrammed seats
– Power increased to 1250hp and 1500nm Torque
– Standard F1 7 speed transmission
– Magnesium Wheels
– Supplied with exclusive complimentary Swiss made ASPEN Zenvo watch worth $49,000.00
All warranty/service work will be carried out by Zenvo’s concierge service, who will fly to the owner’s location anywhere in the world. So even with such limited numbers clients have no need to worry about having the vehicle taken care of. Onboard diagnostic allow the factory to check the care remotely, reset systems and even upload new engine and transmission software.
PRICE $1,800,000.00 USD + any local/sales taxes
