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together with the upcoming shanghai motor show, icona has issued a couple more teaser images of the previously announced 900hp one-off supercar. full information and images are coming very soon.since the show opens it doors as soon as the 21st of april.
press release:
icona vulcano: balancing beauty and the beast through smart design
a one-off supersports car, coachbuilt in italy and designed by icona, the italian design house based in shanghai
shanghai, 4th april 2013: icona reveals more details about the design process behind the icona vulcano (iconavulcano.com ), their new supercar which will be unveiled at the shanghai auto show on 20th april.
two years ago at the shanghai auto show 2011, icona presented the fuselage, a new aerodynamic electric concept car that was met with wide acclaim. the idea of creating the vulcano first came one year later, when icona was invited to exhibit the fuselage at the 27th festival automobile international in paris as a finalist in the world’s most beautiful concept car competition. a new goal was set: if icona could win hearts with the fuselage, a four seater sedan, how many more people could they win over with a glamorous 2 seater super sport? the idea for the icona vulcano was born.
the very first idea for the vulcano was to use a front engine layout, and to use a strongly sculpted body side which would evacuate the hot air from the engine and reduce the air turbulence generated by the wheels. “as different ideas came together, the most challenging design issue which we faced was how to create a balance between power and beauty. when you’re trying to create a feeling of aesthetic harmony, you risk creating too many sweet lines, which decreases the feeling of power. on the other hand, if you make too much of the powerful features which are necessary to a super sports car such as its cooling cutouts and blades which manage the air flow, they become graphically too dominant, and this makes the car less beautiful. the way we found the right balance was usually by looking for the greatest simplicity” said samuel chuffart, design director of icona.
the vulcano uses a consistent theme of dynamic triangles set in horizontal symmetry, reminiscent of the icona logo, which balance the dynamism of the volume. to connect the features and divide each part, tight lines compliment the voluptuous shape, enhancing the car’s sensual power.
the power train is the work of world-renowned engineer claudio lombardi, the former power train technical director of ferrari. in collaboration with mr. lombardi, icona optimized the design solutions, like the flow of hot air, cold air and down force, to maximize the vulcano’s extreme performance.
founded in early 2010, icona is unique among european design studios. for easy and convenient communication with its chinese clients the entire icona team – and not just its commercial office – is based permanently in the heart of shanghai’s lujiazui district. with a growing design team from eight different nationalities, icona provides design services to the most respected automakers in china. through its integrated partnership with sector leaders tecnocad progetti and cecomp located in torino (italy), icona brings together the best of european design, engineering, modeling and prototyping experience.
