Here's your first look at the 223mph Rodin FZero prototype hypercar

The FZero hypercar from New Zealand-based Rodin Cars has entered its development phase and was recently spotted running laps around its testing facility in Mount Lyford, South Island. Well, there are worse locations for a shed.

The FZero is a closed single-seat racer looking to fight the established panel of track-focussed hypercars including the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Mercedes-Benz AMG One. Arguably, none look quite as outrageous as the starlet from the southwestern Pacific, and that’s saying something.

The FZero is similar in approach to the McLaren Solus GT and adopts a ‘90s Group C racer-esque design, with ascending body panels that swoop from low to high at the mid-points and form a huge rear spoiler at one end, and a super sharp splitter at the other.

The front-angle shot reveals the car’s cockpit is essentially one tiny capsule that’s attached to the arches by the various beams which form the car’s frame. Like a modern interpretation of Michael Keaton’s Batmobile.

The mid-section has a cluster of vents that presumably suck in more leaves in than they do air to breathe life into the FZero’s engine: a 4.0-litre V10 dubbed the ‘RC.TEN’. It produces 1,013bhp and 516lb ft of torque while revving to 9,500rpm. Rodin Cars claims a top speed of 223mph and also intends to sell the RC.TEN as a crate engine for use in motorsport.

It is the brainchild of David Dicker, a tech billionaire and avid racing driver, who said: “While there’s a long road ahead of testing and development, running the FZero for the first time gives me immense pride in what everyone at Rodin Cars has achieved in bringing this programme to life. The test went very well, and we were able to work through our programme. We’re excited as the FZero project enters its next phase. It really is a car like no other.”

The hypercar was first revealed last year and is a follow-up to the brand’s open-wheel, single-seat FZED. Two prototypes were even built right here in the UK by Neil Brown Engineering before returning to its spiritual home in New Zealand where it will see out the remainder of its preparations before returning to take on Europe’s heavyweights. Price? A rumoured £1.8m.