Marangoni Floats the Z-HYDRO

Following the success enjoyed by its previous Alfa MiTo M430 and the Fiat 5.0.0. project cars, Marangoni has developed the ‘Z-HYDRO’, a new tuned vehicle for 2010. As before, the project has been handled by Florence, Italy based tuner TRC Italia, and completed in what Marangoni describes as an “astonishingly short time”, considering the recent market launch of the Nissan 370Z R34, the vehicle the Z-HYDRO is based upon.

Naturally, the 2010 car would not have been complete without the now de rigueur coloured tyres, and following last year’s red, the choice this time was blue – both the colour of water and the Marangoni Group’s corporate colour. For the Z-HYDRO, Marangoni developed a 20-inch concept design tyre that it says will be the source of inspiration for the Marangoni M-Power, the new UHP product to be released at the start of next year. The Z-HYDRO concept car is thus shod with “M Power – Blue” concept tyres in 245/30R20 and 285/25R20 sizes. These tyres, notes Marangoni employ a very high silica content compound that minimises rolling resistance and consequently fuel consumption.

Yet the Marangoni 2010 show car, adds the Italian manufacturer, is not however just about design, style and power – it is also a “demonstration of technological advancement and ecology”. Marangoni continues that the main technological advancement within the tyre and the inspiration for the Z-HYDRO name is the inclusion of a process that produces a gas called HHO or ‘oxyhydrogen’, and uses an “energy from water” supply kit. This technology works in symbiosis with the car’s original engine and, says Marangoni, minimises harmful emissions – specifically unburned hydrocarbons, which are practically eliminated. Yet that’s not all – oxyhydrogen, reports Marangoni, also significantly decreases the vehicle’s fuel consumption without compromising on engine power. Amazingly this system is said to rely upon one basic raw material…. Water.

Marangoni describes the Z-HYDRO as an “almost total reworking of the car”, and reports that TRC Italia has made “substantial changes” to the body, engine, interiors, braking system and trim. Of course, for the Italian tyre maker the big news is the Hydro supply kit that independently produces HHO and “works in perfect symbiosis” with the original engine. The HHO created is injected by the system into the engine’s intake and is said to bring about a drastic reduction in HC, unburned hydrocarbons and harmful emissions in general – all while delivering the said significant improvements in fuel consumption. In trials coordinated by TRC Italia, the vehicle’s original horsepower was reportedly maintained. System designed Lorenzo Errico believes that subsequent developments will lead to a considerable increase in horsepower.

The Z-HYDRO features a flood of modifications and performance features, including the Oxigin Vierzhen Ox rock black full polish wheels the M Power – Blue tyres are fitted to. These are supplied in 8.5×20-inch at the front and 11×20-inch to the rear.