In an era when hypercars come loaded with electric motors, digital dashboards, and more drive modes than a Formula 1 car, Capricorn and Zagato have gone in the opposite direction. Their new creation—the Capricorn 01 Zagato—is a defiant celebration of analog purity: a 900bhp, rear-drive, manual-gearbox missile designed not for algorithms, but for enthusiasts.
A Purist’s Weapon
At the heart of this striking Italian-German collaboration sits a supercharged 5.2-liter Ford V8, tuned by Capricorn’s motorsport engineers to produce a mountain-moving 738 lb-ft of torque and “more than” 900 PS (888bhp). The numbers are still provisional pending homologation, but even conservatively, that’s enough to make it one of the most powerful cars ever fitted with a five-speed dog-leg manual gearbox.
Power goes exclusively to the rear wheels, and with a curb weight of under 1,200 kilograms, the 01 Zagato’s power-to-weight ratio sits in the same rarefied air as the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. Capricorn says it’ll rocket from 0 to 62 mph in under three seconds and top out at 224 mph.
Form Follows Function—Beautifully
Zagato’s chief designer Norihiko Harada aimed to create something that could “stand the test of time,” and he may have done just that. The Capricorn 01 avoids the trap of contemporary hypercar excess—no towering rear wing, no sci-fi cameras in place of mirrors. Instead, its carbonfibre skin channels airflow through an intricately sculpted floor, generating substantial ground-effect downforce without resorting to add-on aero clutter.
The result is a car that looks as though it could have graced a Le Mans grid in the 1970s, yet it’s entirely modern beneath the surface.
Race-Bred Core
Built around a carbonfibre monocoque chassis inspired by LMP1 endurance racers, the 01 Zagato benefits from Capricorn’s deep motorsport experience. Braking is handled by carbon-ceramic discs gripped by six-piston Brembo calipers, while steering assistance is delivered electronically at low speeds—then disengages entirely at pace for undiluted feedback.
As Capricorn CEO Robertino Wild puts it, “Our target was to achieve a constant and predictable downforce distribution for stability—not an ultra-high number that makes the car nervous.” In other words, this is a car built to reward precision, not punish imperfection.
The Analog Experience
Open the gull-wing doors and you step into a cockpit that’s closer to a vintage race car than a modern supercar. A large analog tachometer dominates the dash; digital displays are practically nonexistent. The seats are bolted directly to the chassis, and instead of moving the seats, the pedal box and gear lever adjust to fit the driver.
There’s no touchscreen—just a small retractable screen for the reversing camera. Drive modes (Comfort, Sport, Track) are selected via a rotary dial on the steering wheel, and that’s about as high-tech as it gets.
Exclusivity Defined
Just 19 examples of the Capricorn 01 Zagato will be built, each priced from €2.95 million (around £2.56m) before tax. Every car will be homologated for European roads, including the UK, making this one of the few true analog hypercars you could—at least theoretically—drive to the shops.
Interestingly, Capricorn had originally been tapped to produce the De Tomaso P72, another carbon-bodied manual hypercar, before that project shifted to HWA. With the 01 Zagato, Capricorn seems determined to make its own mark on the modern hypercar landscape—one that values engagement over automation, and timeless beauty over fleeting tech trends.
In a world increasingly driven by software, the Capricorn 01 Zagato is a welcome rebellion—a car that remembers what driving used to feel like.
Source: Autocar
