Auto Design

South African carmaker Perana Performance Group is making its first international appearance at the Geneva Motor Show on the Zagato exhibit. There, the world famous Italian designer will be showing their all-new Perana Z-One (read Piranha Zee-One).

This high performance two-seater coupé marries a traditional steel-frame chassis, with front engine and rear wheel drive, with the modern fibreglass bodywork designed in Milano by Zagato. Penned by the talented Nori Harada, the Perana Z-One has sensual, fluid and yet powerful surfaces tailored to express a sense of commitment to high speed.

The design is typically Zagato: the proportion and volume of Z-One are even tighter, accentuated by a couple of long and dynamic curves with sharp edges which visually integrate strong design features such as the engine bay air outlets on both sides. Surfaces defined by those cutting edges are even more sculptured maintaining the modern Zagato style developed through the past decade.
This year, the company is celebrating its 90^th anniversary, under the leadership of founder grandson Andrea Zagato. The prototype of the new South African sport car has been built there based on design and digital models developed in Italy by Zagato. The Virtual reality development process by Zagato has been implemented from inception, thus eliminating the need for the traditional styling model and enabling the prototype to be completed in less than 4 months by the South African team.

Perana Performance Group has plans to build and sell up to 999 units, per annum, to be sold in Europe at very attractive price of “under € 50,000″, plus taxes.

The 6.2 litre V8 engine is a derivative of the Chevrolet Corvette credited of 440 HP (328 kW) in its setting for Euro 4 emission standards.

According to a company representative, the new Perana Z-One should “be available for sale to discerning European buyers by July 2009.”