Can the new race-bred Ascari KZ1 exotic supercar with 500 bhp V-8 make its mark among the likes of the Pagani Zondas and Lamborghini Murcielago? It has good looks, handling, exclusivity and plenty of power, but is that enough?
Ascari? What’s that? Well, of course, Alberto Ascari was a renowned Italian racing driver of the 1950s, but now it is the name of an exotic supercar with a top speed of 200 mph, thrilling acceleration, taking you to 100 mph in around 8.5 seconds, and race-developed structure and suspension to match. The Ascari KZ1 is definitely a welcome addition to the exotic supercar ranks.
Ascari Cars was set up 10 years ago by Klaus Zwart, a wealthy Dutch businessman, and its first car it was a mid-engined coupe called the Ecosse. Quite a few were built. Work on the KZ1 started about four years ago, and now this mid-engined coupe is in production.
Great-looking car
In addition to building cars, Ascari also has a racing division which modifies and maintains cars for racing, including the single-seaters used with other cars at the Race Resort Ascari near Ronda in Andalucia in Spain. Ascari has a well-equipped plant including a paint shop, at Banbury, in the heart of England. Buyers of the KZ1 get an opportunity to sample the race track at the resort, but membership costs a hefty £100,000.
The KZ1 will be exclusive; Ascari will build only 50 of them, and will then move onto something else – but maybe not for some years. All sales and service are being handled by Ascari itself at Banbury.
Exclusive: only 50 to be built
When you walk out to drive the Ascari KZ1 for the first time, the smooth flowing lines of the mid-engined coupe impress. The car looks just right. It is also very low, and quite small – smaller than a Ferrari F430, but about the size of the Gallardo, but lower and lighter.
Race-inspired carbon fibre body structure
With a structural hull and body panels made from carbon fibre, it is clearly made from the best materials, along the lines of racing cars – in fact it is race-inspired, not least because Klaas Zwart is a keen racing driver. There is also a racing version, which is a little lighter and more powerful than the road car. Zwart races one in the Spanish GT class.
The use of carbon fibre for the body structure, which extends from a pair of deep and thick longitudinal members back to the rigid passenger compartment, results in great stiffness and strength – and light weight. Slotted in behind the cockpit is the engine, gearbox and rear suspension, which are all carried on a steel tubular sub-frame.
With a kerb (curb) weight of 2,840 lb (1,275 kg) this is one of the lightest in its class. That's a power:weight ratio of 394 bhp per ton, which is equal to the Porsche Carrera GT, and not far behind the 433 bhp per ton of the Pagani Zonda.
Unequal length wishbones
The front suspension, steering and angled radiator are all mounted on the carbon fibre hull. The front and rear wishbone suspension is classic racing type: triangular tubular unequal length wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers. The suspension at the rear is almost the same. To give some understeer, an anti-roll bar is fitted at the front only.
The body panels are bonded to the hull to form a massively strong body. On the KZR1, the panels are bolted in place, and this method may be adopted for the road car later on.
Walk around the KZ1 and the good impression remains. Few cars coming from small and new companies have such professional-looking and svelte lines. You open the door by pushing up a concealed button in the sculptured rear side air intake, and look in at the inviting cream trimmed bucket seats. The button is depressed with a satisfying click, and the door opens a touch. So far so good.
Getting in is fairly easy for such a low car, and soon I was adjusting the steering wheel and seat to get the driving position right. It felt good, the steering wheel just right, and the gear-lever of the six-speed Cima gearbox close to hand in the quite high central tunnel. Floor-mounted pedals are well spaced, although in this left-hand drive car there was nowhere to put my left foot.
Starts with a muffled roar, and burbles at idle
Turn on the ignition, and press the starter button. The BMW 5-litre V-8 engine, heavily modified by Ascari, springs to life and the muffled roar of the exhaust is there, keeping you company. Press the quite heavy clutch and snick into first. The pilot-build car I drove had no spring bias on the gear lever, so the shift was less positive than it might be. Production versions will have a bias toward the third-fourth gate, which will improve the shifting of the rear-mounted Cima gearbox, which is the same as used on some other powerful supercars.
Easy to drive in towns and villages
Driving through the outskirts of Banbury and some villages was simple; no temperamental near-racer this. The engine will pull from any almost speed in quite high gears, despite producing 500 bhp at 7,000 rpm. It trundled happily along in the traffic at 1,500-2,000 rpm.
Forward visibility is good, as you'd expect with this layout. The small rear window is not too bad either in town, but once you get to 50 mph the rear spoiler lifts, obscuring most of the rear vision. So you rely on the door mirrors.
Fortunately, there are some quiet, twisty roads in this part of England, and soon I’m out there on the open road. The steering is nicely weighted, and with only 2.2 turns form lock to lock is quite direct. Although the car turns in smartly, it has pretty good directional stability on smooth roads; drive at speed over a rough, undulating surface, and you need to hold the car on line on these fairly narrow roads, though.
Drop down to second with that notchy shift and floor the throttle; supercar acceleration hits you in the back as the revs build up to the 7,200 rpm limiter, and the rumble soon turns into a raucous roar as if the engine is sitting in the passenger seat. Snick up a gear, and from then on you find that shifting up at 6,000-6,500 rpm on the road gives masses of power. The car accelerates so fast – and I mean really fast, thanks to that terrific power:weight ratio and super engine - that you usually run out of road before you the revs get much higher than 6,000 rpm.
Impressive engine: power everywhere
The engine continues to impress. It is not standard BMW; the engine has been changed so much that the feel and response are different. At any speed from about 3,000 rpm you get instant response and masses of acceleration – and the roar to go with it. This is one of the gutsiest engines around, giving stunning acceleration. Don’t worry what gear you’re in just floor the throttle and off you rush into the next corner. Up around 100 mph, there is masses of power in fifth or sixth.
Now, I’ve got the feel of the car, I’m overtaking traffic as if they’re standing still in amazingly short distances, dabbing the powerful AP brakes before the next corner – braking more than I need as it happens on a road I don’t know - and swinging around the curves as if on rails, completely flat. These AP brakes are really good; six-pot callipers at the front, and four-pot callipers at the rear.
A fabulous car on the open road
Now the Ascari is in its element, belting up the straights, swinging round the curves, giving me plenty of feedback. It is set up to give understeer on the faster corners, but in practice the handling is quite neutral as I swing around a series of curves punctuated with short straights, the Pirelli P Zero 235/35 R19 fronts, and 305/30R19 rear tyres giving masses of grip. On long slow bends, the mild understeer makes itself felt, but is easily counteracted.
The handling seems brilliant, and combines with that gutsy engine to give terrific performance – and the excellent brakes complete the picture. Now, there’s an open long slow corner, and I can feel a little understeer build up. Chris Burton, the sales manager, tells me that the suspension can be set up to be more neutral if you prefer.
Ascari could become a great car
As my drive comes to an end, I’m left feeling that this could become a great car. It has the power and a well-matched transmission to give terrific acceleration. The steering is good in all circumstances, and the unequal length wishbones are set up to keep the wheels vertical, which seems to give excellent handling – to be sure you'd need to test the car on a track.
To give that flat cornering, they’ve adopted very firm suspension, and the ride is pretty hard on poor surfaces, but acceptable. The thin bucket seats give plenty of lateral support and are surprisingly comfortable. Also the fit and finish of the body, inside and out, are excellent.
The interior does not quite seem to make the exotic class yet, though. As I said earlier, on left-hand drive cars, there is no room for your left foot; it has to hover over the clutch pedal.
Worse still, the speedo and rev-counter are a bit fussy, and are partially obscured by the steering wheel. The result is that you can’t see what you want quickly enough. You get away with this on a hot hatch, but on an exotic car of this type which you will drive fast and which accelerates like a rocket, you must be able to see important parts of the speedo and rev-counter all the time.
Also, the aluminum rotary switches may be fine on a racer, but don’t have that quality look you need on beautiful car with terrific performance. Incidentally, the car even has some luggage space – enough for more than a weekend trip, but maybe not enough for a trip across Europe or the USA.
Do I recommend it? There is a lot of competition around the $300,000-$400,000 price level, and some of them, like the Lamborghini Murcielago, cut quite a dash, but few are really exclusive. But if you want exclusivity, I recommend you put the Ascari KZ1 on your short list. You aren't likely to see another unless you go to the Ascari Race Resort.
Also, the Ascari is a great car to drive, and the fact that the company will fly a technician to your car anywhere in the world should the need arise might just tip the scales in favour of this newcomer.
