Shanghai based Italian design house Icona would be unveiling their one off supercar, the Icona Vulcano at the Shanghai Auto Show next April. Powered by a front engine V12, the two door supercar would be propelled by a hybrid powerplant with a combined power rating of around 900 bhp. The engine has been the brainwork of Claudio Lombardi, one of the most successful Italian motor engineers- Racing Director of Lancia that won seven World Rally Championships with 037 Rally and Delta S4 from 1982 to 1991, Powertrain Technical Director of Ferrari for Formula One and GT cars from 1991 to 2000, and Project Leader of Aprilia to win the Superbike World Championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, using one of the most powerful and light engines ever developed in its category.
On the performance front the car is expected to sprint 0-200 kph under ten seconds with top speed to hover around the 350 kph mark. The image is the only teaser picture released by the Italian house, but the design hints at a confusion. The unwrapped rear portion of the car might make one into believing that it’s a mid-rear engine configuration rather than a front mount. With just a month to go for launch of the new supercar on the block, what comes out needs to be seen.
Icona had earlier unveiled the Fuselage Electric GT Concept at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show which didn’t find much appreciation among enthusiasts, but seems the Vulcano is all set to bring the change. On a different note, it seems like the figure 900 is becoming a power benchmark for supercars off late.