Monday, December 10, 2018

Italdesign Zerouno Duerta Roadster Debuts At Geneva

Only five are being made and they’ve all been sold.

Last year, Italdesign revealed the Zerouno at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, a stunning, limited-production supercar and the first to be produced by the company’s new Automobili Speciali division. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Italian design house, Italdesign revealed a new targa-top version of the Zerouno at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. Called the Zerouno Duerta (‘open’ in Piedmontese dialect), the new limited-production roadster shares many of the coupe's features.

The upper part of the chassis has been redesigned to incorporate the removable carbon fiber roof and to retain structural rigidity. As with the coupe version, the Zerouno Duerta’s body is made entirely out of carbon fiber and the material has been used extensively in the interior as well. Despite a slight increase in weight, Italdesign claims no compromises have been made in the car’s performance. Under the engine cover lies a powerful, naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 derived from the Audi R8 V10 Plus, producing 610 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. Zero-to-62 mph takes 3.2 seconds, while its top speed is over 200 mph.

Like the coupe, the styling is similar to the Lamborghini Veneno with aggressive aerodynamic elements, such as a hood with a Y Duct system to optimize downforce and airflow. The upper and rear parts had to be completely redesigned to allow the roof to be removed without compromising performance and comfort. “From an engineering standpoint, the challenge we faced was designing a new chassis: we reinforced the structure to compensate — in terms of rigidity — for the absence of the B and C pillars, typical of a topless car, to ensure a performance comparable to that of the Zerouno coupé,” Italdesign’s CTO Antonio Casu explained.

The carbon roof can be removed manually, but the Zerouno Duerta also comes with an emergency soft top. Only five examples of the Italdesign Zerouno Duerta are being produced, each with individually customized exteriors and interiors like the coupe. Unfortunately, if you were hoping to place an order for the exotic roadster, you’re out of luck, as each one has already been sold. Yes, Italdesign has revealed a car to the world that you can no longer buy.

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