Track car maker Rodin opens new UK HQ at Donington

Track car manufacturer Rodin has opened a new UK headquarters at Leicestershire’s Donington circuit. 

The New Zealand-based maker of the low-volume FZED and upcoming FZERO track-only single-seaters said it is expanding into “a location a lot closer to the action”.

The new 500sq m showroom, located at the main entrance to the Jonathan Palmer-owned race track, has one of the company’s FZED F1-inspired track cars on display, which is available for viewing by appointment in line with coronavirus restrictions.

The car, which Autocar drove last year at the company’s New Zealand test track, is described as “ready to race” and available for customer delivery.

It packs 675bhp from its Cosworth-tuned 3.8-litre V8 and weighs just 589kg, so it boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 1154bhp per tonne - more than even a Yamaha R1 superbike - and will hit 99mph from rest in just 5.0sec. 

“Perhaps the Rodin FZED’s most impressive aspect,” said the company, “ is its reliability.” The Cosworh lump is said to be capable of 3100 track miles between tear-down inspections - or 3175 laps of Donington. 

The engine has been left uncovered on the UK display car, but customer cars will feature a rear cowling that shields it from view. 

“While we are a New Zealand-based company, our plan has always been to establish an additional UK base,” said David Dicker, founder and CEO of Rodin Cars. 

“We have big plans for the new space, with a desire to showcase not just our supercars but also the state-of-the-art technology and engineering that is going into their manufacturing.”

READ MORE

The closest thing to F1? Driving Rodin's 675bhp FZED​

Gordon Murray T50 supercar gets track-only S version​

Top 10 best lightweights 2020​