Robert Ackers
Summary
- The Capricorn 01 Zagato features a supercharged 5.2-litre V8, manual transmission, and gull-wing doors.
- Only 19 units will be built, emphasizing exclusivity, with prices starting at €2.95 million before tax.
Capricorn and Zagato have teamed up to create something defiantly old-school in a new-age hypercar world: the Capricorn 01 Zagato. It’s a lightweight, analogue-first machine packing a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 tuned to roughly 900PS, a five-speed dog-leg manual and gull-wing doors — everything about it says “driver’s car,” not “digital showroom.”
Beneath the dramatic Zagato coachwork sits a carbon-fibre chassis inspired by LMP1 racers and a body also formed from composites, helping keep kerb weight below 1,200 kg. Capricorn says the 01’s Ford-sourced V8, fettled in-house, makes around 738 lb-ft of torque and “more than” 900PS (888 bhp is the current benchmark), though final figures could change during homologation.
Performance is savage but measured: Capricorn claims sub-3.0-second 0–62 mph and a 224 mph top speed. Drive is rear-wheel only through that five-speed dog-leg manual — a hugely deliberate choice that puts engagement ahead of lap-time headlines. Braking comes from carbon-ceramic discs gripped by six-piston Brembo callipers and managed via a bespoke ABS system.
The 01 is aerodynamically clever rather than shouty. The underbody and floor are sculpted to generate steady ground-effect downforce so the car remains stable and predictable across speeds — Capricorn deliberately avoided extreme wings and canards to keep the package usable on real roads. “Our target was a constant and predictable downforce distribution for stability,” CEO Robertino Wild says, not an ultra-high figure with a tiny window of operation.
Inside is an exercise in purposeful restraint. Think classic racers: analogue dials with a big rev counter centre stage, minimal screens, and fixed seats bolted to the chassis. To cope with different drivers, the pedal box slides fore and aft and the gear lever can be moved 80 mm along the tunnel — small, mechanical solutions for real usability. There’s no full infotainment system; a tiny pop-up display appears only to show the reversing camera. Drive modes (Comfort, Sport, Track) are chosen with a dial on the wheel — simple, tactile, effective.
The steering setup matches the car’s philosophy. Electric assistance helps low-speed manoeuvring but drops out at higher speeds so drivers get raw, analogue feedback. Even the mirrors are old-school — traditional side mirrors instead of cameras — because, as Zagato chief designer Norihiko Harada puts it, the goal was to “stand the test of time” and not be dated by trendy tech details.
Exclusivity is guaranteed: just 19 cars will be built, each priced from €2.95 million (£2.56m) before tax. Capricorn intends to homologate the 01 under European rules so it can be registered for road use in the UK and a handful of other markets. The firm had previously been linked to producing the De Tomaso P72 but that contract has since moved to HWA.
If you want a hypercar that prioritises feel over telemetry, mechanical purity over touchscreens and a driving experience that’s tactile, loud and human, the Capricorn 01 Zagato is unapologetically for you — and for a very small, very fortunate group of owners.
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