Remember the Icona Vulcano? Neither did we, but the fluidic, one-off supercar first unveiled in 2013 is back and better than ever thanks to its C6Â Corvette ZR1-derived, supercharged 6.2L LS9 V8Â powerplant.
Supposedly Italian-made and backed by Chinese cash, the Vulcano first debuted at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show and also appeared at Pebble Beach later in the year. Back then, it was said to feature a choice of hybrid powertrains, one of which was said to be a 950 hp 6.0L V12. Right.
Its sculpted titanium and carbon-fiber form lit up the Internet like a roman candle, but all too quickly its moment in the spotlight was over and the fireworks fizzled out. Until now, that is.
Not surprisingly, the V12 hybrid spaceship engine didn’t make the cut. But an LS9 isn’t exactly a poor consolation, especially with 670 hp and 619 lb-ft of torque on tap, besting the ZR1 (638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque) by a full 32 ponies and 15 lb-ft of twist. And Icona says its all too happy massage the LS9 to “well over 1,000 horsepower” if customers are crazy enough to ask for it.
It’s not as if it’s slow; Icona says the Vulcano and its close-ratio, paddle-shift transmission allows it to scoot to 60 mph in faintly believable 2.8 seconds and onto a top speed of 220 mph. How much faster could it really go?
You can catch the Vulcano and its new Chevrolet Performance crate engine heart on Sunday, August 16 at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it’s naked titanium body that took over 1,000 hours to make will be on display.
Prepare for more fireworks.
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You got to love the LS engine.