02/24/09 - Superformance's manufacturer building the
                      new Perana Z-one

SUPERFORMANCE MANUFACTURER BUILDING NEW CAR

Port Elizabeth, South Africa, February 24, 2009-   www.superformance.org/supernews - 
The Italian design house and historically famous car designer Zagato has placed their influence into a new car being built by Hi-Tech, South Africa's car builder who famous for building the Superformance MKIII, Daytona Cobra Coupe, Shelby CSX,  GT40, the Nobel GT and the Rossian. Zagato designed the exterior of the new Perana Z-One. Only 999 units will be built and will be powered by a 6.2L LS3 V8 from General Motors producing at least 440 horsepower and a 0-62 mph time for the car of less than four seconds. The Perana Z-one car will be debuted March 3rd, 2009 at the Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland.

For the first time ever, a motor vehicle conceived, designed, engineered and developed in South Africa, will be launched at an international automobile exhibition. The luxurious Perana Z-one, brainchild of Jimmy Price of Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, was developed and built in Hi-Tech's factory and shipped to Europe, where it will be launched at the Geneva Auto Show from March 5 to 15th. The iconic Z-one was styled by Zagato of Italy, one of the world's foremost automobile styling studios. Zagato has designed some of the world's most beautiful sports cars made since the company was founded 99 years ago. Hi-Tech Automotive, arguably the world's largest privately owned manufacturer of specialist sports cars, was not left unmarked by the economic meltdown in the USA and Europe. Demand for Jimmy's authentic replica Cobra and GT 40 sports cars declined as the economy stagnated, and this led Jimmy to investigate other market opportunities.

The demise of low volume car manufacturers around the world, coupled with the changes in European Union legislation allowing low volume manufacturers of type approved models to enter the market, created the opportunity for Jimmy to realize a long standing ambition: not to produce just replicas of famous sports cars, but with the assistance of his experienced team at Hi-Tech, to design, develop, engineer and manufacture his own brand. To fund his dream, Jimmy called upon a group of friends and associates to join him in the development of the new product, and the Perana Performance Group was established. The group acquired the intellectual property of the Perana, a well known modified Ford high performance range produced in the 1960's, and Jimmy called upon his long-time friends at Zagato in Italy to style his dream car.

The result is a stunning, wind-cheating, traditional front-engined, rear wheel driven two seater coupe with a powerful V8 engine under the bonnet. The flowing lines of the Z-one's fibreglass body, its spacious and refined interior and the classic wedge shaped styling lines sporting Zagato's trade-mark double bulges on the roofline, will hold its own in the company of marques that are already recognized as the world's leading sports cars. The Perana Z-one is intended to be a limited production model (as are all Zagato inspired sports cars), and only 999 a year will be built in the St Albans plant. One a dealer network has been appointed in Europe and full production starts, additional employment opportunities will be created at Hi-Tech Automotive. The Z-one on Zagato's stand at the Geneva Auto Show will give South Africa an opportunity to showcase its engineering and production expertise, both offered at a price unheard of in the traditional European automotive design and production facilities. The Z-one is expected to retail in the United Kingdom for just under 50,000 GB pounds excluding local taxes.

PERANA:  In the 1960's a South African named Basil Green contracted a deal with Ford to modify standard South African produced Fords of the time (Cortina, Capri, Escort, Granada and Sapphire) with larger engines (such as a modified four, a V6 in a four, and a V8 in a six, etc, as well as improving the suspensions), and sold them under the name Ford Perana on the South African. Very successful in motor sport, too. Former Superformance dealer Ron Rosen, was his sales Director at the time. The origin of this car was Jimmy Prices idea, and the car was conceived just more than a year ago. When Jimmy and his backers were looking for a name for the Z (for Zagato) One (they could not use Z1 because it belongs to BMW) they resurrected the Perana name with Basil Green's blessing.

ZAGATO:  Zagato was established at the end of the World War I by Ugo Zagato, putting aircraft industry construction techniques to use in the expanding market for performance cars, and were advanced in design and became synonymous with light weight and excellent aerodynamics. Zagato has designed specialty cars since 1919 for Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Abarth, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. In addition to those cars that have been produced officially in small series, Zagato has also built exclusive one-offs and prototypes for other illustrious marques, such as Ford, Jaguar, MG, Rover, Volvo, Bristol, and Rolls-Royce. So the manufacturer of the Superformance cars now building for Zagato, places them in very respectable company.

PERANA Z-ONE SPECIFICATIONS: 
General Data: Curb Weight - (2950 lbs), Weight Distribution - Front: 45% Rear: 55%, Wheelbase - (100"), Track - Front: (64") Rear: (62"), Length - (173.5"), Height - (48.5"), Width - (75.75")   
Engine: Configuration - V8, All Aluminum, Fuel injected, Displacement - (376 cu in.), Power - (440 hp), Torque - (430 lb-ft), Max. rpm - 6600 rpm, Compression Ratio - 10.7: 1     
Drive train: Gearbox - 6 speed manual, Differential - ZF Limited Slip, Wheels Perana / Zagato - Front: 18 x 10J Rear: 19 x 12J Tires - Michelin PS2 - Front: 275/35 ZR18 Rear: 345/30 ZR19   
Chassis: Frame - Steel Tube Space Frame, Body - Vinyl-Ester/Glass Composite, Brakes - Front: (12.8") 2-piston sliding calipers Rear: (12.0") 1-piston sliding calipers, Assist type - Vacuum, Steering - ZF Power Assist
Suspension: Front: Unequal Length A-arms, Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks, Anti-roll bar, - Rear: Unequal length A-arms, Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks, Anti-roll bar   
Fuel Capacity - (22.5 gal)   
Performance: 0 - 100km/h - sub 4 secs., 0 - 160km/h - sub 10 secs., Braking - 38m

- photos, story and information provided by Ronnie Kruger