VULCANO TITANIUM :: World First Titanium Car

DESIGN

Vulcano TitaniumAlongside its astonishing performance and pedigree, the design of the Icona VULCANO is an evolution of the very advanced form language which was first introduced on the Icona Fuselage concept in 2011 by Samuel Chuffart, Icona’s design director.  The aim of the design approach is to express the amazing capabilities of this extremely powerful car, while maintaining harmonious and generous shapes: bringing together the Beauty and the Beast.



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.


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.

Talented young French designer Samuel Chuffart brings exceptional international experience to his role as design director of Icona. During his eight year tenure at Nissan Design in Europe and the US, Mr. Chuffart  played an instrumental role in the creation and realization of the Nissan DNA which is known today.  Mr. Chuffart then moved to Jaguar-Land Rover, before being selected for the coveted position of Chief Designer in Italy in 2008, successfully developing numerous production cars soon to be seen on the road.

Chuffart

Founded in early 2010, ICONA brings together the best of European design, engineering, modeling and prototyping experience in the automotive sector.

Through its integrated partnership with sector leaders Tecnocad Progetti and Cecomp located in Torino (Italy), ICONA offers complete engineering support to integrate feasibility into styling from the early stages and provides design models to complex prototypes.

ENGINE

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe powertrain is the work of well-known Claudio Lombardi, former powertrain technical director of Ferrari and mastermind of numerous world champion cars, and Mario Cavagnero, the man behind the Lancia Racing team and father of the engine of many championship-winning cars (the famous Lancia Integrale and 037, as well as the complete Peugeot T16 family).

Capable to be tuned to well over 1.000 horsepower should the owner demand it, the optimized 670 horsepower and 840 N/m of its supercharged V8 is coupled with a paddle-shift close ratio gearbox from Automac Modena, allowing 0 to 60 miles/hr in 2.8 seconds and 120 miles/hr in 8.8 seconds.

Lombardi-Chuffartclaudio_lombardi

The shift times, the ratios and differential gear have been optimized and calibrated in order to achieve the best balance in the distribution of power.

This system allows to eliminate the traditional gear lever replacing it with the pades connected to the sensors on the steering column. The result achives an extreme simplicity of combined driving at a considerable speed of change by only touching the blades with fingers, without ever taking hands off the steering wheel.

Also the geometry of the suspensions have been revolutionized in respect of the traditional solutions.

The shock absorbers are fully adjustable in rebound and compression, and this makes the choice possible between several possible settings in order to identify the most suitable calibration to the drive type.

The coil coaxial springs (which replace the typical leaf springs) combined with the new shock absorber has a  tunable spring preload, this  allows proper modification of heights and a  better weight distribution on the front and rear.

Front and rear anti-roll bars, widely adjustable, allow to vary the stiffness depending on use. The naked titanium body was sculptured by CECOMP involving more than 10,000 hours of hand-crafted work in the most pure form.

Claudio Lombardi  is one of the most successful Italian motor engineers: racing director of Lancia who won seven World Rally Championships with 037 Rally and Delta S4 from 1982 to 1991,  powertrain technical director of Ferrari for Formula One and GT cars from 1991 to 2000, and project leader of Aprilia to win the Superbike World Championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, using one of the lightest and most powerful engines ever developed in its category.  Two years ago Lombardi founded AIPA to develop different powertrain concepts which maximise the combination of combustion engines and electric motors for innovative integral powertrain.

AIPA is a company association for the development of new powertrain concepts for race cars and production vehicles. Under the direction of Mr. Lombardi,  AIPA brings together the expertise of Mario Cavagnero from Italtecnica in combustion engine development and prototyping, Beppe Volta in race car preparation and tuning, and Stefano Carabelli from Actua in mechatronic products to create innovative hybrid powertrains which are implemented on fully working vehicle prototypes.

Actua – Actuation and Control Technologies S.r.l is a spin-off of the Politecnico di Torino which was founded in 2005 by professor Stefano Carabelli and a group of Masters and PhD students from its Mechatronics Laboratory. The company is an “engineering workshop” for the development of Energy Efficient Technologies. Actua focuses on innovation in design and prototyping for the industrial development of new mechatronic products in the transportation and renewable energy sectors. Actua’s motto is “Innovation means inventions implemented and taken to market”.

Italtecnica S.r.l. is an automotive tuning and development company founded in 1984 by Mario Cavagnero.  Italtecnica managed the Peugeot Sport team at the highest level in competitions such as the Paris-Dakar in 1988 and the Campionato Italiano Superturismo in 1994. In more recent years, a professional partnership with Maserati led to the development of the Maserati GT Light, winner of the Italian GT3 Championship in 2005.  Italtecnica’s facilities include six fully equipped test benches for engine performance, thermal and durability tests, with metrological support laboratory and mechanical workshop.