First Look: Capricorn’s Lightweight, Analog 01 Zagato Hypercar Arrives in America

By Michael Van Runkle –  May 10, 2026

First Look: Capricorn’s Lightweight, Analog 01 Zagato Hypercar Arrives in America

Amid the broader hypercar industry, which largely relies on hybrid-electric drivetrains to produce massive power figures and all-wheel drive to tame such prodigious output, a growing movement aims to prioritize a return to old-school driver engagement. Rather than chasing stats on paper, this trend leverages modern materials and production methods to maximize the fun factor for lightweight, analog cars. Case in point, the new 01 Zagato from German materials manufacturer Capricorn, which boasts a carbon-fiber monocoque based on the Porsche 919 Le Mans racecar with a supercharged Ford V8 linked to a five-speed dogleg manual transmission.  Priced at 2.95 million euros ($3.4–3.5 million) before an expectedly extensive personalization process, Capricorn promises production will commence later in 2026. To drum up further anticipation, the firm brought its second running prototype to Beverly Hills for a Cars and Coffee meet at luxury and exotic dealer Marshall Goldman Beverly Hills. Capricorn hopes this new entrant to the hypercar world can blossom out of a long history as an automotive industry background player providing componentry for racing series, including F1, LMP1, WEC, WRC, and more. The firm’s facilities in Germany, France, and Italy—including a carbon-fiber plant at the Nürburgring—also contributed carbon fiber, aluminum, and titanium to road cars, including the Audi R8, Bugatti Veyron and Chiron, Porsche 918 Spyder, as well as the GT2, GT3, and GT3 RS, and Manthey Racing’s aerodynamics program. That expertise extends to full vehicle manufacturing, but never before on a car that will bear the company’s name. Switching that mentality required starting from scratch, while continuing partnerships with longtime industry leaders. “Being Germans, we know what we can do and what we cannot do,” Capricorn’s director of sales and relationships, John Sternheimer, told duPont Registry. “We could have designed a car, but having a coachbuilder like Zagato featuring the body on your car, it cannot get better. For the Ford engine, it's a great engine, it's super reliable, it has massive power, and it has a lot of reserves on it. And if you talk to people who own hypercars, what all of them don't like is high maintenance. No matter how much money you have, you don't want to pay $120,000 for every service. That's also a reason for this engine in the car. It’s serviceable like a supercar, not a hypercar, and that's a big difference nowadays.” In person, the 01 Zagato occupies much less space than expected. Nowhere near the size of a Bugatti Chiron, for example, the low-slung body even made a GT2 RS parked nearby in the showroom look bulky and cluttered. That alone sets Capricorn apart from the expanding footprints and aero profiles of both supercars and hypercars. A closer look at Zagato’s design reveals hints of the modern Ford GT and Lotus Emira, as well as the Lamborghini Miura and de Tomaso Pantera—all true highlights of automotive styling, in a futuristic yet timeless shape. The interior continues that theme with a simple and sparse melange of carbon, aluminum, and titanium. Simplicity dictated both functionality and ergonomics, as the seats actually bolt directly to the monocoque. Sternheimer stands over six feet tall and claimed that anyone up to 2.1 meters (six-foot-ten) should fit easily, because the pedals and steering column both move around the driver, rather than vice versa. This concept extends even to the gearshifter, in an industry first, which can scoot 80 millimeters (3.14 inches) fore and aft. The gated five-speed—with a manual reverse lockout—links to the 5.2-liter Ford Performance V8, which Capricorn then worked over with a rotating assembly, air intake, rotating assembly, supercharger, and ECU built in-house. Total output claimed at 888 horsepower with a redline set at 9,000 rpm sounds reasonable versus the Mustang GTD's 815 ponies and 7,650 rpm, especially after slotting the shifter into neutral, depressing the clutch pedal, and cranking the engine over. In a glass showroom, the Capristo exhaust blared and rumbled, emitting glorious pops and bangs of overrun after just a few nudges into the throttle. Supercharger whining seemingly inches from the driver’s skull, ripping that shifter up and down through the gates, all in a rear-wheel-drive mid-engined coupe that weighs just 2,650 pounds dry—the 01 Zagato sounds hardcore, with Capricorn’s Nürburgring heritage on full display, including an inboard pushrod suspension setup by Bilstein. And yet, this is more than just a track car. The carbon-fiber frunk can hold up to 120 liters of luggage, nearly equal to a modern Porsche 911, and a four-axle lift reduces fears of scraping all that precious carbon fiber. This running and driving prototype will receive a few revisions before production commences, including redesigned gauges with an integrated reverse camera and brakes that switch from Brembo to AP Racing. Capricorn plans to build just 19 examples, a figure chosen in honor of the founding of Zagato on April 19, 1919. Only a handful of allocations remain, though this first step from Capricorn will eventually lead to a spider variant limited to a slightly more accessible 91 units. As with so many hypercars, exclusivity enhances the desirability—yet comparison to the competition matters just as much in the overall appeal. Sternheimer believes Capricorn chose to step out from the shadows at the perfect opportunity, still something of a unique proposition even as the analog craze builds. <- Gallery -> “We believe the time was right to not chase horsepower as a lot of competitors do,” he said. “I like to use a quote, ‘The best cars have already been built, with one exception.’ So we’re bringing back what people really enjoy. No hybrid, no electric, a lightweight, fun-to-drive car that sounds amazing, that also will look amazing in 20 years from now.” View All Supercars and Exotic Cars For Sale  Images: Michael Van Runkle

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First Look: Featherweight EV Longbow Speedster Arrives In California

By Michael Van Runkle –  April 21, 2026

First Look: Featherweight EV Longbow Speedster Arrives In California

In the EV era, automakers tend to prioritize luxury, size, and all-out performance that electric power unlocks. Multiple EVs now boast 0-60 times below two seconds, truly breathtaking acceleration that borders on becoming physically painful for passengers to experience. But unleashing so much power without sacrificing range requires larger batteries, which then requires beefier components throughout the vehicle, in a vicious cycle of compounding mass.  As EV technology improves, one company founded by former Tesla and Lucid employees aims to leverage the benefits of reduced weight to reintroduce driving joy into the world of electric vehicles. Ahead of deliveries slated to begin later this year, UK-based Longbow Motors recently brought the firm’s Speedster prototype to a private soiree in the hills of Montecito, California, for client and media impressions.  In person, the car actually occupies a larger footprint than expected from early photos—think less Mazda Miata or Ariel Atom and more similar to a ¾-sale Ferrari Monza SP1 or, as historically relevant for a British automaker, a 1950s Jaguar XKSS. Design inspiration from those al fresco icons definitely shines through, as the Speedster lacks a windshield entirely. Upon closer inspection, the classic proportions give way to more modern wheel arches reminiscent of a Ferrari 12Cilindri, sinewy side skirts similar to an Aston Martin Vanquish, and dual headrest cowls giving way to a tidy, tucked tail. Inside, the biggest surprise should come as a relief for anyone accustomed to driving modern EVs: not a touchscreen in sight, and minimal switchgear cluttering up the dash. Longbow clearly decided to keep the driver’s interactions with the Speedster as simple as possible. Yet the engineering also takes advantage of EV packaging, so the cockpit feels spacious inside despite the diminutive size. The batteries run down the spine of the undercarriage, to both improve the center of gravity as well as lower the seat rails, rather than sitting above a more typical “skateboard” EV layout. A single rear drive unit for the rear axle uses off-the-shelf motor, transmission, and inverter components for an in-house developed solution that further contributes to a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio. “With EVs in general, you get such power density and power-to-weight ratios,” cofounder and CEO Daniel Davey told duPont Registry, “But what you can do with that shouldn't be more power, it should mean less weight with the same power. So for us, we're all about stripping out weight and complexity from the vehicle, and we're able to leverage this democratization of power in EVs.” “Speed-lightness is the vehicle itself, endeavoring that the car itself is fast because it's light,” Davey continued. “But it's also for us as a company, because we operate fast. So how do you strip away weight and complexity at a company level, so that you can quickly deliver cars that are also light.” The spirit of lightweighting might help with straight-line sprinting, though with no dual-motor all-wheel-drive traction and a restrained, yet rational range of 240 miles—plenty for a Sunday morning canyon rip—Longbow claims 400 horsepower allows for a 0-60 time of “just” 3.5 seconds. That might seem downright sluggish compared to a Rimac Nevera, for example, but the Croatian hypercar with 1,914 horsepower also weighs 5,071 pounds.  <- Gallery -> Longbow targeted a curb weight below one ton, and the Speedster tips the scales at just 1,963 pounds. Carrying momentum in the corners becomes the name of the game in such a featherweight—think Lotus more than Lamborghini. Davey emphasized the sensation of wind in the face, whipping through tight switchbacks, the whine of electric power and the wallop of instantaneous torque more than making up for any lost internal-combustion soundtrack. “The sound of the powertrain is going to come through when you're driving the car, and that's important for us as well,” Davey laughed. “In an open-top car, when you're going above 40 miles an hour, you can't hear a V12 anyway. So the driving will do the talking.” A planned hardtop version to follow looks even more stylish than the Speedster, though may detract somewhat from the raw aesthetic and experience. And Davey admitted that the prototype on display will evolve slightly, with chronograph-inspired gauges on the steering column, a new shifter, and revised interior ergonomics. Longbow plans for a limited production run of just 150 units for each model to qualify as a low-volume manufacturer.  Pricing that starts at $87,000 sounds even more enticing for such a unique proposition. For now, nothing on the market anywhere quite matches the Speedster’s attributes—at least until (or if) Porsche finally confirms the heavily delayed Boxster and Cayman EV successors. Whether enough buyers will flock to Longbow’s analog vision of the electric future remains a question, as does the ability of a startup to maintain quality standards equal to a legacy OEM like Porsche. But if the proposed timelines work out, expect UK and Europe deliveries to begin later this year, before American pre-orders start to arrive in Q2 of 2027. View All Exotic and Luxury Cars For Sale  Images: Michael Van Runkle

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