It took a few years in the making, but if we've learned anything from the automotive industry, it's always better to be late than to never show up to the party at all.

So after making its debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, followed by a lengthy delay in its release date, the Zagato->ke3827-built Perana Z-One is finally ready for its production debut.

Hailing from South Africa, the Perana Z-One is the result of a joined collaboration between Zagato and Perana Performance Group. There's no word yet on the official release date of the South African sports car, but there have been some rumblings that we might get to see the Z-One for the first time since Geneva in 2009 at the Festival of Speed this coming July in the UK.

Now that we know that the two-seater sports car is well on its way to production, we may need to start saving our hard-earned money to be able to get a piece of one of the 999 Z-One's scheduled to be built.

More details on the Perana Z-One after the jump.

2012 Perana Z-One

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2012 Perana Z-One
  • Engine/Motor: 6.2-liter V8 engine
  • Horsepower: 442 horsepower
  • Torque: 430 lb/ft of torque
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior and Interior

The Perana Z-One's overall design was born out of the collective minds of Milanese coachbuilder, Zagato, and South African manufacturer, Perana Performance Group. The Z-One reflects pure passion born out of combining traditional sports car styling with state-of-the-art aggression to create a visual of a car made for the times. The Z-One's body is accentuated by a couple of long dynamic curves that swoop down to keep edges and integrating important design elements. There's an unmistakable Zagato-look to the car, specifically the car's front end, which bears strong similarity to the TZ3 Stradale, another Zagato-designed sports car.

The look of the car's interior has yet to be divulged, although you can expect it to carry such niceties as a sat-nav system, a touch-screen infotainment system, an A/C unit, Brembo brakes, and Recaro sports seats.

Performance

The Perana Z-One is powered by a GM-sourced 6.2-liter V8 all aluminum engine that produces 442 horsepower and 430 lb/ft of torque mated to a six-speed manual transmission and a ZF limited-slip differential. Official times have yet to be posted, but the South African sports car is expected to hit a time of north-to-60 mph in just under four seconds.

Pricing

Again, there's still no official confirmation as far as how much the car is going to cost. Early estimates suggest that it could fetch for somewhere around £70,000, or a little over $110,000 based on current exchange rates.

Competition

When talking about suitable competition for the Z-One, we can look no further than the same car that bears a similar design: the TZ3 Stradale.

Whereas the Z-One is powered by the same 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces 442 horsepower, the TZ3 Stradale is powered by a front-central 4.2L V8 90° engine mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

You might find trouble differentiating the two because of their design similarities, but if you're thinking of getting one over the other, you might have better luck scooping up a Perana Z-One because it's expected to be readily more available than the TZ3 Stradale, which, oddly enough, is limited only to nine units.