HORACIO PAGANI HAD H shown that it could be done: the outlandish Zonda was proof that an unknown really could break into the supercar club previously the Lamborghini, Porsche and a small handful of others. Pagani proved that you didn't need decades of preserve of only Ferrari, heritage; you didn't need to go racing; you didn't even need to build your own engine. After the launch of the Zonda in 1999, the received wisdom no longer applied.
Enter, in the early 2000s, another successful, car-mad entrepreneur with a dream: Dutchman Klaas Zwart. Just like Pagani, Zwart's dream was to build his own mid-engined supercar. His too would be a purist driver's car, fully carbonfibre in construction and powered by a bought-in German engine: where the Zonda had its AMG V12, the KZ1 would have a BMW Motorsport V8, tuned to a nice round 500bhp. In a car with a claimed kerb weight of 1300kg, that was enough for Ascari to cite 0-60mph in sub-4.0sec and a 200mph top speed. Pagani territory...
Klaas Zwart certainly wasn't lacking in ambition or belief. There was a pristine new production facility and top engineering talent; a sales target was initially set at 100 cars a year, and there were plans to go GT racing. Acres of press coverage followed; there were memorable appearances on Top Gear. And then...
The sales simply never materialised. Ascari took the KZ1 racing, with some success, but road car sales never amounted to more than a trickle and after a few years the adventure was over, the production facility closed and sold. So what went wrong? We tracked down some of the key players to get their take. What we uncovered was a classic tale of what might have been.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
