Titanium is one of the few metals that can rival steel in the strength stakes – but did you know it’s actually 45% lighter? These two qualities combined mean it should be ideal for building sports cars, but as the metal is notorious for being incredibly hard to work with (it’s hard to hammer, press and mould into shape), you don’t see many.
Until now.
Shanghai-based designer and manufacturer Icona has spent the last few years refining the world’s first and ONLY super-hot supercar made from titanium, aptly named the Icona Vulcano Titanium. This week, the marque has released the one-of-a-kind model on to the market – on sale now for a cool price of more than £2million.
So what sort of performance is this thing packing?
We’ve heard from Icona that the Vulcano’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine—borrowed from the Corvette ZR1—is good for 670 horsepower and 620 lb.-ft. of torque. The muscular engine accelerates the car to 60 mph in a mere 2.8 seconds and can reach a whopping top speed of 220mph. Very impressive.
What’s more, Icona is also claiming a Nürburgring time of less than 7:20 seconds for the Vulcano, which we’ll point out hasn’t yet been proven. For the record, a bone-stock Nissan GT-R will lap the ‘Ring in 7:24.22 seconds, with a Stig-worthy driver behind the wheel.
The cost of the car makes it pricier than most other luxury cars, including the Bugatti Chiron and the Lamborghini Centenario. Which seems fair because only one will be ever made!
Why? And where did Icona get the idea?
The Vulcano’s exterior design is said to be inspired by the Blackbird SR-71 aeroplane, while the bare titanium finish of the bodywork renders it exclusivity like no other. Icona says that it took 10,000 hours to craft the titanium into the shapes required – probably down to the difficulty of the properties of this illustrious metal.
Design director Samuel Chuffart added; “The most challenging design issue which we faced was how to create a balance between power and beauty. If you make too much of the powerful features which are necessary to a super sports car, such as its cooling cut-outs and blades which manage the air flow, they become graphically too dominant, and this makes the car less beautiful. The way we found the right balance was usually by looking for the greatest simplicity.”
What can you expect to find inside?
The interiors are headlined with leather, carbon fibre and trimmed in a mix of Poltrona Frau Leather and Alcantara – a durable, ultra-modern material that’s made from 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane.
The steering wheel seems to have been borrowed from a Ferrari 458, replete with an Icona-specific manettino switch with different functions. There’s a futuristic TFT instrument display, a Tesla-like giant touch screen on the centre console, and some jetfighter-style toggle switches – a clear homage to the Blackbird. The car wouldn’t be complete without its carbon-fibre bucket seats, made from Sabelt, who know a thing or two about race-car seating… And fitting for heart-stoppingly cool cars.
If you’d like to get up close and personal with the Vulcano, it will be on display at the 2016 Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance – taking place at Blenheim Palace from September 1-3. And to whoever scoops it up? Give us a call – we’ll help you transport it home, no problem!