A car made out of gold or platinum would cost a fortune, right? Of course. So would a car made out of titanium. In fact, it’ll cost you about $2.78 million.
That’s how much Icona, a design house/coachbuilder started in Italy and based in China, is asking for its Vulcano Titanium – the only one in existence. It took 10,000 hours of work by hand to create it. No wonder Icona calls the build process “unrepeatable.”
When Icona’s craftspeople were making this one-of-one machine, they stuffed the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 from a C6 Corvette ZR1 under its hood and behind its front axle, giving the Vulcano a front-midship layout for better handling. Its 670 horsepower and 620 lb-ft of torque is pushed through a paddle-shift gearbox and the rear forged aluminum wheels/Pirelli P Zero tires. That output gets the Vulcano from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 220 mph. Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers up front and four-piston calipers in the rear bring the Vulcano to a stop.
Inside, the carbon fiber cabin is trimmed with Poltrona Frau Leather and Alcantara, and fitted with carbon fiber bucket seats. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger tablet-like touchscreen display all the important info.
Those of you in the UK can get an eyeful of this alloy anomaly at the 2016 Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance September 1-3.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
