We had just started to get accustomed to carbon fibre being used on the supercar and the hypercar with the focus being in saving weight. Carbon fibre is an expensive but lightweight material which adds rigidity along with helping supercar and hypercars maintain a low weight.
It also adds to the exotic look of the car and carbon fibre remains a popular option to take for supercar buyers. That said, Velozzi, a new hypercar maker had other ideas altogether and is the first hypercar in the world to use spider silk in its construction.
Spider silk: More strength, elasticity and toughness
Yes, the Velozzi hypercar mixes spider silk and carbon fibre to achieve more toughness than any other material. Spider silk is said to have more strength, elasticity, and toughness over lightweight but strong materials like Kevlar, carbon fibre, titanium.
Thus, it offers strength and lightness along with being quite elastic. As a result, its application can be used for the automobile and the aircraft industry where speed and lightness matter more than anything else. Carbon fibre composites when mixed with Spider silk brings in more stiffness and enhances its qualities too while being more durable less brittle along with being cheaper too.
Velozzi: Clutter-free design
Roberto Velozzi, founder of Velozzu has partnered with Spidey Tek to make this a one of a kind car. The design too is swoopy and has a familiar but streamlined shape. It looks low and comes with the correct interpretation of what a supercar should be like while the various details to channel air to the slippery shape is also quite sleek. If anything, it is slightly analogue and is not too fussy with too many details being embedded in.
The shape is clutter free but flowing and looks unique as well. The powertrain is also something of a novelty amongst the rapid onslaught of electrification creeping into the supercar space. The Velozzi in fact has a bespoke high-revving naturally aspirated Formula 1 V-12 engine which no doubt is an added highlight along with its construction too.
Velozzi hypercar: Naturally aspirated V-12 engine
The V12 engine will add the necessary sound track which owners crave for and the naturally aspirated V12 is paired to a simpler F1 transmission which is slightly old-school but somehow fits in with the drama that a supercar should create for its driver. This V12 is being soured from a car-maker with F1 roots and this would also be complying with the upcoming stricter emission rules. Hence, this could be one of the last V12s in existence since mostly all other carmakers are now switching to hybridized versions to downsizing.
However, the spotlight is on the Spider silk material for sure and how it could spread to other sectors in terms of its usage. For a supercar, spider silk brings in the qualities that it must possess but a lot of this depends on the mass production of spider silk. As for Velozzi, they only plan to make a 100 of these so it would be a rare sight on the roads and at a price-tag of $3 million each, it is also only for the top tier clientele with a garage full of other supercars.
While these days carbon fibre is being liberally used by car-makers beyond hypercars, Spider silk could pave the way for strong and a lighter material in the future. To our eyes, the Velozzi is a desirable but an analogue hypercar which ultimately helps it stand out amongst the raft of hypercar start-ups mushrooming these days.
Somnath Chatterjee grew up around cars and most of his childhood was spent obsessing over supercars. Years later he decided to start writing about them and hasn’t looked back since. While he has had his fair share of cars, the world of automobiles never ceases to amaze him. Travelling all over the world to drive them along with sharing that experience is what ultimately keeps him going. He hopes to drive a Ferrari 288 GTO someday because, well, do you really need a reason?
