The proportions are just right, and it’s arresting rather than beautiful

The locals of the barren, mountainous town of Hatta are slightly confused by what has just hit them.

Or rather confused and amused. Here they are, going about their daily business, and all of a sudden they come across the sight of Darth Vader’s new wheels: a striking and mean-looking supercar with a stance more purposeful than a sumo wrestler just before a tussle. In a place where the number of people walking around at any one time can be counted on your fingers, this is as incongruent as catching sight of an indigenous Amazonian tribesman sitting at a MacBook Air, flanked by Bang&Olufsen speakers.

They stop, stare at the Zenvo ST1 and walk over to ask questions. Then inevitable, perplexed and wide-eyed exclamation shortly follows. ‘Denmark? Really?! Oh…’

You can hardly blame them. Denmark doesn’t have a particular association with any type of industry, let alone a car industry. It’s only blondes and 10th century battle-axe-wielding warriors that pop into your head. Here’s one reason for that: ‘A Dane is a creature with a big heart and an equally big inferiority complex.’ So explains the Danish writer and poet Klaus Rifbjerg, in an essay published by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ‘Denmark and the Danes are not exciting,’ he says.

Perhaps that’s about to change, as the world wakes up to the fact that one of the most smug nations on earth (according to one survey) has out of nowhere produced a car more powerful than the haloed Veyron, and one that has a limited(!) top speed of 375kph. The motoring world went slightly wide-eyed when the Pagani Zonda C12S first came out, but - not to take anything away from the brilliant Horacio - it somehow made sense that such a fine car would reside in the home of the supercar, from a man who’s made it his mission to live in Modena and who’s CV includes Lamborghini. But Zenvo, from quiet and reserved Denmark, is a slightly different story.

So what kind of supercar is the ST1? We first saw it a year ago in computer renderings (which was the only place it existed at the time) and with heady numbers like 1089bhp, 1055lb ft of torque and both a turbo and a supercharger, it seemed like yet another case of optimistic supercar maker jostling for the Top Trumps limelight alongside the SSC Ultimate Aero and Koenigsegg CCXR. Turns out, that’s far from being the case. Zenvo didn’t have a horsepower figure in mind; it was simply a point the engineers felt was right. The highest horsepower figure Zenvo tested was 1400bhp, but after turning the wick down for driveability and reliability, the final figure of 1089 was what it ended up with. Still, 1089bhp…

A decision was made early on to outsource the main components the team thought other companies did well, and to manufacture the rest itself. So the rakish design comes from a young Dane called Christian Brandt (ex-Alfa Romeo and BMW), the carbon fibre body panels are made in Germany, Brembo supplies the brakes, Ohlins the suspension, Recaro the gearbox and VW the speed-sensitive electro-hydraulic steering system. As for the 7-litre V8, it’s advisable you don’t ask engineering head Troels Vollertsen (a man with extensive engine tuning experience) whether it comes from a Corvette, as others have already suggested. It does have its origins in GM, but those origins are ancestral. The block, crank, pistons, conrods and cylinder heads are all Zenvo-designed. ‘It pisses me off that people think it’s a Corvette engine,’ he retorts. ‘My one regret is that I should’ve made it 6.9 litres.’

As for using an exhaust gas-driven turbocharger alongside a belt-driven supercharger, the idea isn’t a new one. Volkswagen created the award-winning 1.4-litre Twincharger engine for the Golf. But that was engineered to give the power of a larger engine without compromising on fuel economy, and the two air compressors work at opposite ends of the rev range. In the ST1, they work simultaneously as soon as the speed is high enough for the turbo to kick in. When pushed, Vollertsen admits that just a supercharger would’ve been enough, but says he wanted more power, as well as a more predictable, linear delivery.

Zenvo’s overall philosophy behind the ST1 is about 60 per cent racecar, 40 per cent road car, so the result of that is the addition of a few real-world considerations. A large number of the production run of 15 will likely go to the Gulf, and considering the dubious consistency in the quality of our roads, along with some unpredictably-sized sleeping policemen, the tall 60mm all-round hydraulic lift is likely to come in very handy. And unlike its Nordic neighbour Koenigsegg, which chooses to mount the engine directly to the chassis, racecar style, the Zenvo V8 sits on rubber mountings to make things more liveable. A three-stage ride control will also be developed come the final car. The ST1 we have today is the development prototype that’s being put through an ongoing two-year test.

It’s in the Middle East for two purposes. One is for potential-customer test-drives (the first car was already sold a few days prior to our drive), and the second is for hot-weather appraisal. Today is mid-January and the ambient temperature hovers in the high twenties. So you can call it frosty by summer’s 40-plus norms.

As the ST1 is slowly lowered off the recovery truck in a parking bay by the Hatta Fort Hotel, Vollertsen says it’s been leaking water for the last couple of days, and that he’ll have to look into it later. There’s nothing quite like a confidence boost when you’re about the drive an unknown supercar with 791bhp/ton. Vollertsen though, doesn’t seem too bothered.

Once it’s on the ground, my attention turns to the overall looks of the car. It’s wider than a Lamborghini Murciélago and longer than a Carrera GT, but it somehow manages to not look as voluminous as either of the two. The proportions are just right, and it’s arresting rather than beautiful. Look at the ST1 head on and there’s a resemblance to a catfish with its mouth open, about to vacuum up a million worms, snails and tadpoles all in one go.

It may also look like pencil was put to paper through a set-square from some angles, but that’s exactly what Zenvo wanted. ‘Supercars in the last 10 years have lost the sharp lines they once used to have,’ he says, and singles out the Veyron and Ferrari 599 as examples.

Those blunt edges cover a steel modular tubeframe chassis with double wishbones all round. The diffuser at the end of the flat floor is big, but it doesn’t compare to the relative size of the turbo once you swing open the light bodywork. A collosal bright silver Garrett GT47 turbocharger that’s about two handspans in diameter instantly catches your eye. It sits next to the American-sourced Eton supercharger and is good for 1500bhp. The engine itself matches the Star Trek-style exterior and the best way to describe it, is ‘imposing’.

IF THERE’S ONE thing you don’t do with a $ 1.2m supercar is rush the drive. You don’t just get in and explore its limits as you might in a hot hatch. Particularly not when it’s the only one in existence and the car’s creator, who’s labored for over five years to make his vision a reality, casts a wary eye on you in the passenger seat.

But as snapper Khaled clicks away at his own treasured equipment, I’m constantly checking the time. We’ve started late, and Zenvo’s scheduled meeting with a potential customer in the evening means our time with the ST1 is strictly limited. It’s frustrating to say the least.Until, as late afternoon passes and large rocky shadows signal dusk, the last few shots are taken. Then, it’s finally my turn to have a go.

No dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors, just press the button hidden behind the shoulder line and pull. No prior yoga experience needed. The cabin is simple and easy to get comfortable in, mainly thanks to the supportive and well-padded seats. The steering is rake and reach adjustable, the view out is reasonable fore, side and aft, and running my index finger along the high-quality stitching, the overall finish is impressive. It’s all Zenvo-made, apart from the Porsche dials that’ll be replaced by a custom LCD display, and the aftermarket steering wheel, chosen because it was the only universal, airbag-fitted item available.

‘The V8 comes to life with a deep, throaty and resolute burble - a bit like a toned down GT racer’

Behind the gearlever are three dials: ignition, hydraulic lift and a three-mode power/traction control switch. The text above each one reveals itself by lighting up flourescent blue once you’re in. The Wet, Sport and Race settings on the power dial worth thus. Wet restricts output to 650PS (641bhp) while the Zenvo-developed traction control system stays on. In Sport, 850PS (838bhp) is freed up, with traction control loosened up a touch. And with Race, power is released gradually as you speed up, starting at 650PS and increasing until 120kph, at which point you have free rein over 1089bhp, with only the nerve endings in your right foot to judge wheelspin. The idea is to not restrict the power to the wheels as much as possible. Thinking about it though, of the 15 customers Zenvo is looking for (and it looks like many will end up being from the Middle East) it’s doubtful any would’ve ever tried to control anything approaching 1000bhp unassisted…

Turn the ignition on, hold down the clutch pedal and press the starter button on top of the gearlever. Wait for a brief moment as the dry-sumped V8 clears its lungs. One second later, it catches and comes to life with a deep, throaty but resolute burble. A bit like a toned down GT racer. It has undertones of a muscle car, but one that’s more eager and doesn’t sound like it’s barely turning over. There’s no drama and no vibrations in the cabin.

Easing away, the double-plate, large diameter clutch is light and progressive in its action. Gradually building up speed through the smooth six-speed ’box (it’s the same one as in the Ford GT), snaking through the lanes and blind crests of the well-trodden Hatta-Kalba road, my first mental note is how well-behaved the ST1 is. The steering is meaty enough in its feel, but not too physical, and sharp enough to place the front Michelins where you want them, just when you want to. There’s no judder, rattle or shake through the steering or my backside. It’s easy to track one clean line without having to think twice about it. Holding a conversation is a breeze. Mind you, I’m not using full throttle and I’m only able to reach about 3500rpm in third before the next bend springs up.

It’s hard to discover the limits of grip and traction on this road without taking major risks - the ST1’s width takes up most of the lane, there’s oncoming traffic, and trees, bushes and elevations restrict your view ahead. So I don’t. The three Danes behind Zenvo are also accompanying me today, and the fear of them potentially beheading me should I stuff the only ST1 in existence is playing up on my mind. At most, I’m able to reach 130kph. It’s hard to get a feel for just how planted the car is.

‘It’s easy to place the front where you want it, just when you want to’

Zenvo has yet to fine tune the three suspension settings it’ll offer (there’s no dial for it on the prototype), so Vollertsen has set the car to a medium setting between race and comfort. A final verdict on ride will have to wait until the final car, but the way the ST1 dealt with compressions, changes in surface and the small but constant bumps that litter the Hatta-Kalba road, there’s a hint that while it’s undoubtedly stiff and the chassis rigid, it isn’t harsh, either. There’s enough suppleness to round off road imperfections.

After constantly using all the controls, it’s the pedals that begin to grate on me first. They’re too small for you to feel in complete control, and they have a certain daintiness about them. Neither are they spaced evenly. Heel-and-toeing is impossible because of the foot-width between brake and loud pedal. No one insists on the beautifully machined pedalbox of a Carrera GT, but in something this pricey and focused, it seems lacklustre. It also gives the ST1 a bit of a home-made feel. And so too do the large panel gaps on the bodywork. The shut lines between bonnet and lower front bumper are noticeable, as well as on the doors and on the rear engine cover. If I was to pick more holes, I’d say the interior switchgear and door buttons feel flimsy. Some of the panels also feel wafer thin and brittle, but I’m told the final car will have more layers of carbon fibre on the inner side of the panels.

SO FAR, I’VE only sampled a fraction of the V8’s potential. So it’s with some anticipation that we reach the Hatta end of the road and head towards a more open stretch. Telling me he has a trick for journalists, Vollertsen sees an empty stretch ahead and tells me to floor the throttle. As I do so with 3000rpm dialled up in third, he switches to the Race setting, and after a fraction of a second – 641bhp already doing a decent job of propelling us forward – the Porsche speedo needle in my lower left peripheral vision begins to rise at several times the rate it did a second ago. In fact, it begins to rise faster than the rev needles of some performance cars, and we’re forced into the distance, the traffic that seemed to be about half a kilometre ahead, now uncomfortably close. It’s not a savage, explosive delivery, mind. Not the kind that makes you briefly hold your breath. It’s one long and linear delivery. A bit like god has stretched his hand towards earth and gave the ST1 a gentle but constant push with the palm of his hand.

That forward momentum is backed up by the V8 note that takes on a different tone in Race mode. It has a hard, raucous edge, and burbles in a fast, ill-tempered way as the waste gases bypass the central muffler and travel solely through the side exhausts. On top of that, you have the unmistakable whine of the supercharger and whistling of the turbo feeding extra air into the engine. At this point, the combined noise nullifies any kind of conversation. That is, if you were planning to have a casual chat at that speech-ending moment in the first place.

The basic manual shift means the resonance overload on your ears on acceleration is briefly broken up, but it gives you a chance to prepare for and appreciate the oncoming boost, and gives you the added satisfaction of being an important part of the acceleration process. Come the final car, there’ll be the option of an Xtrac-sourced electric-hydraulic paddleshift system. It’s a little box I’m sure Middle East customers will tick in a nanosecond.

I do a few more acceleration runs where I slow down, select a lower gear and open it up again at full bore. But constantly working through the rev-range eventually creates a problem: the oil temperature reaches boiling point. Vollertsen gets out to inspect the underside. He can’t see anything, but he won’t know for sure until he takes it back to the garage for its daily inspection. If nothing good comes of it, there’s the thought that in one small part, I had some input into the first ever Danish car. To prove the point of reliabiliy and usability, founder Jesper Jensen told me earlier in the day that he uses this prototype for his daily commute to Zenvo’s base. The car has covered almost 50,000km and Jensen beams as he explains that the engine hasn’t missed a heartbeat.

One far less reassuring aspect in need of work reveals itself in deceleration. When Vollertsen and I are travelling well into three-figure speeds, traffic gets too close for comfort, and as I call on the brakes, I get a split-second doubt of whether they’re capabable of hauling us in before the Toyota Camry just ahead has its rear remodelled. The middle pedal is spongy, soft at the top of its travel and it doesn’t feel like the six-piston calipers are really gripping the discs until you lean on the pedal. When you’re travelling at a rate of nots that seems almost like the car ahead is reversing towards you, they don’t inspire confidence. As you read this, Zenvo will be fitting and testing Brembo’s latest universal carbon ceramic brakes, but surprisingly Zenvo is still debating on whether to offer them as standard.

Vollertsen and I drive a little further towards the Omani border control and stop at a clay pot stall by the side of the road. He then politely reminds me that he’s already late for his meeting. Considering Danes are sticklers for punctuality, I imagine he’s rather more annoyed than he’s letting on. We head back, the ST1 is loaded back onto the recovery truck and taken back to Dubai, leaving me to gather my thoughts on the first ever Danish car.

Frustration. That, if I’m honest, is the overriding emotion. Being pressed for time has left me wanting to discover more about just what lies under that intimidating body. One thing’s for sure: it’ll be hard to find any road safe and smooth enough to harness the ST1’s potential; a circuit is a must for exploring under-/oversteer in what is effectively a domesticated track car. And that’s really the first impression you get: the ST1 is a very well-behaved supercar; one that’s geared towards the track, but is usable enough to be driven on a daily basis.

‘Zenvo is creating a multifaceted supercar, and not just a one-trick, straight- line nag’

Despite knowing it’s not the final car, Zenvo chose to show the prototype to the world because it felt it was so close to being the finished item that it might as well come out with it. So I’ll allow myself a criticism in saying that it’s a little rough around the edges. It would be extremely short-sighted to compare it to a Veyron, but it’s the ‘wholeness’ and sense of refinement that’s a little lacking. In a way, you could call it uncertainty. After all, who in their right mind would gamble with $ 1.2m on a car built by a company no-one has ever heard of or seen?

That said, it is an impressive feat. We’ll wait until we experience the production car to really confirm if the ST1 has the brawn to take on the current establishment of dizzying million-dollar hypercars, but Zenvo is creating a multi-faceted supercar, and not just a one-trick, straight line nag.

The first car will only be delivered to its owner at the end of this year, but already the company has plans for two more models, and even a racecar program, should things go according to plan. It all sounds a little too optimistic for three Danes, I’ll admit, but consider that one Danish trait, as Rifbjerg writes in his essay, is to use one’s expertise, not greed or violence, to get ahead.

In Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, the hero Prince of Denmark feigns madness to find out who killed his father. After a while, his actual sanity becomes obvious to anyone watching the play. Similarly, Zenvo appears to be dotty to think that it could sell a $ 1.2m supercar into a crowded, financially broken market. But as with Hamlet, it’s probably worth keeping an eye on the ST1.

	Zenvo ST1
Engine	V8, turbocharged, supercharged
Location	Mid, longitudinal
Displacement	7000cc
Max power	1089bhp @ 6900rpm
Max torque	1055lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission	Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, hydraulic LSD
Weight (kerb)	1376kg
Power-to-weight	791bhp/ton
0-100kph	3.0sec (claimed)
0-200kph	8.4sec (claimed)
Top speed	375kph (limited, claimed)
Basic price	$ 1.2million
Star	4 stars
On Sale	Now

HOW ZENVO WAS BORN...

There are two main reasons why a Danish car hasn’t been produced before: the social system taxes the rich heavily and labor isn’t cheap; anyone wanting to build a big business usually emigrates. The country, however, has always been very technologically advanced, so it was just a case of twiddling one’s thumbs before a company like Zenvo Automotive sprang up.

Based half an hour south of Copenhagen, Zenvo is a small operation made up of around 15 people, most of which are craftsmen and assemblers. Founder Jesper Jensen is the CEO and in charge of marketing. The two brains behind the engineering, Troels Vollertsen and Lars Stenkilde, both have extensive experience in creating horsepower kits for the likes of tuners MTM, Kleeman and Mansory. They also used to run a racecar preparation and tuning business. The two have effectively created the ST1 from scratch, designing almost every part of the car, with complicated computer modelling work for the body being outsourced to experts in Switzerland. While working on the engines of various supercars, they had the chance to sample their customers’ cars and came away disatissfied with what they drove. ‘The 599 is fast,’ admits Vollertsen, ‘But you don’t have the feeling of being in a supercar at all. A Koenigsegg is rough and vibrates too much.’

From the outset, they were adament they won’t chase numbers with the ST1. ‘We’ll never take the limiter off because it doesn’t make sense,’ says Vollertsen. ‘I don’t know what the top speed is right now, but it doesn’t matter. New supercars will come along that will be able to go a bit faster. And then another one will come along that’ll go faster again. Plus, customers will never reach that speed.’ If the limiter was to be removed, Zenvo reckons it could easily pass the 400kph mark. So far, one Danish journalist recorded 350kph – and that wasn’t on full throttle…

Surprisingly, plans are already afoot for a convertible ST2 and we suspect work on a more hardcore, track-only version may start in a few years’ time. Vollertsen also aspires to enter Le Mans (though it obviously depends on how well sales go). And before that, they’ve set their sights on the ’Ring record. One unnamed ex-supercar test driver has already commented that the ST1 could do very well. Keep your eyes peeled around June.