How It's Made: Dream Cars

Narrator: TODAY ON "HOW IT'S MADE: DREAM CARS," THE ZENVO ST1,

A DANISH HYPERCAR THAT'S NOT JUST TURBOCHARGED,

IT'S ALSO SUPERCHARGED.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

ZENVO WANTS YOU TO BE SCARED WHEN YOU SEE AN ST1

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD.

THE DESIGNER OF THE ST1 WAS TOLD TO MAKE IT LOOK EVIL.

HE TURNED TO IMAGES OF WILD PREDATORS FOR INSPIRATION.

THE SHOULDERS OF A CROUCHING LIONESS

TRANSLATE TO THE HYPERCAR'S FENDERS,

WHILE THE HEADLIGHTS CONVEY AN EAGLE'S EYES.

THESE INFLUENCES HELP TO GIVE THE ST1 ITS AGGRESSIVE STANCE.

THE CAR'S FREE-FLOWING POSITIVE CURVES

CREATE THE IMPRESSION OF DYNAMIC MOVEMENT,

EVEN WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED.

THIS DESIGN HELPS EXPRESS THE ST1's MONSTROUS STRENGTH,

WITH A V8 ENGINE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 1,104 HORSEPOWER.

BUT AESTHETICS ALONE DON'T MAKE A CAR BODY.

THE DESIGNER MUST ALSO INCORPORATE KEY ELEMENTS

LIKE AERODYNAMICS AND DOWNFORCE FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE.

NO MATTER HOW SOPHISTICATED THE DESIGN SOFTWARE IS,

THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SCULPTING THE CAR

IN THREE DIMENSIONS.

ZENVO ALSO MILLS A FULL-SCALE VERSION

OF THE ST1 IN POLYSTYRENE.

THE FINAL PRODUCT IS A TRUE SUPERCAR

THAT CAN ACCELERATE FROM ZERO TO 60 IN THREE SECONDS FLAT

AND REACH A TOP SPEED OF OVER 230 MILES PER HOUR.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT AT THE HEART OF THE CAR

IS AN ENGINE THAT HAS BOTH A TURBOCHARGER

AND A SUPERCHARGER.

ZENVO USES A COMBINATION OF ALUMINUM AND STEEL

TO BUILD THE CHASSIS OF THE ST1.

THE STEEL IS ESPECIALLY FORMULATED HIGH-STRENGTH TYPE.

THIS ALLOWS FOR THIN-WALLED TUBING, A WEIGHT-SAVING DESIGN

THAT MAINTAINS STRONG TORSIONAL RIGIDITY,

A CRUCIAL ASPECT FOR ANY HIGH-PERFORMANCE CAR.

BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER ONLY MAKES FIVE OR SIX ST1s PER YEAR,

THEY CAN FOCUS ON CRAFTING EVERY ASPECT OF THE CAR BY HAND.

HERE, A TECHNICIAN CAREFULLY MEASURES

AND POSITIONS ALL THE COMPONENTS OF THE REAR CHASSIS FRAME

IN PREPARATION FOR WELDING.

HE USES A FOLDING RULER TO ENSURE THE GAPS

ARE PERFECTLY ALIGNED.

THEN HE TIG-WELDS ALL THE COMPONENTS TOGETHER.

IT TAKES ABOUT A WEEK TO BUILD THE REAR FRAME

AND ANOTHER WEEK FOR THE FRONT FRAME.

ONCE COMPLETE, THE FRAMES JOIN THE CENTRAL MONOCOQUE

TO CREATE THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE HYPERCAR.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THIS METAL FRAME

LIES UNDERNEATH THE SLEEK BODY OF THE ST1.

ZENVO BUILDS THE BODY EXCLUSIVELY FROM CARBON FIBER.

A TECHNICIAN USES A PATTERN TO CUT OUT THE CORRECT AMOUNT

OF CARBON FIBER NEEDED TO CREATE THE CAR'S PANELING.

THANKS TO THE VERY DURABLE, BUT INCREDIBLY LIGHTWEIGHT,

NATURE OF CARBON FIBER,

THE ZENVO ST1 WEIGHS IN AT JUST OVER 3,000 POUNDS.

THE CAR'S LIGHT WEIGHT ALSO HELPS IT MEET

THE VERY STRINGENT EURO 5 EMISSIONS STANDARDS.

A REMARKABLE FEAT,

CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF HORSEPOWER IT PUTS OUT.

HERE, A SPECIALIST BUILDS A SECTION OF THE REAR SIDE PANEL

BY CAREFULLY HAND-LAYERING CARBON FIBER INTO A MOLD.

USING CARBON FIBER TO MAKE A CAR BODY

IS A METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

THAT BLENDS TEXTILE WORK WITH SCULPTING.

THIS PROCESS IS PAINSTAKINGLY SLOW,

AND THE FIBER IS EXPENSIVE.

BUT WHEN YOU'RE HAND-BUILDING A HIGHLY EXCLUSIVE DREAM CAR

IN SUCH SMALL NUMBERS,

YOU MUST USE THE BEST MATERIALS AVAILABLE.

LOW-VOLUME, MADE-TO-ORDER-GOODS PRODUCTION

IS ONE OF THE FEW INDUSTRIES

THAT STILL EMPLOYS SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE.

NOW THE CRAFTSMAN PRESSES A SHEET OF CARBON FIBER

IN A MOLD THAT IS SIMILAR, BUT NOT IDENTICAL,

TO THE FIRST ONE.

THIS SECTION OF THE BODY PANEL

WILL HOUSE ZENVO'S SIGNATURE GAS CAP,

SO IT MUST BE PREPARED WITH THAT IN MIND.

ONCE THE TWO MOLDS ARE PREPARED, A TECHNICIAN COVERS THEM

WITH A LAYER OF MATERIAL CALLED BREATHER FABRIC.

THEN EVERYTHING IS SEALED INSIDE A CLEAR PLASTIC BAG.

THE AIR IS VACUUMED OUT, CREATING A TIGHT SEAL

THAT ENSURES PRECISE CONTROL OVER THE CURING PROCESS.

TO CURE THE CARBON FIBER, THE WORKER

TURNS ON AN ELECTRIC HEATING SYSTEM EMBEDDED WITHIN THE MOLD.

IT TAKES ROUGHLY FIVE HOURS

TO DE-MOLD THIS TYPE OF CARBON FIBER.

THEY LET IT SIT OVERNIGHT BEFORE REMOVING IT FROM THE MOLD.

RELEASE AGENTS WERE APPLIED TO THE FIBER

TO HELP WITH THE DE-MOLDING PROCESS.

HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIANS MUST STILL PROCEED VERY CAREFULLY

TO AVOID BREAKING OR CRACKING THE PART AS THEY REMOVE IT.

HERE, A WORKER IS USING A GRINDER

TO CUT AWAY EXCESS MATERIAL.

THIS REQUIRES A STEADY HAND.

NEXT, THE TECHNICIAN USES A DIFFERENT HANDHELD POWER TOOL

TO CUT OUT THE GAS-CAP OPENING.

ONCE FINISHED, HE SANDS THE EDGES SMOOTH.

THE FINISHED CARBON-FIBER COMPONENTS COME HERE

TO A SEALED PAINTING STATION.

BUYERS CAN CHOOSE ANY FINISH THEY WANT,

BUT MANY OPT FOR A CLEAR COATING THAT PROTECTS THE SURFACE

BUT REVEALS ITS DISTINCTIVE WEAVE.

HERE A SPECIALIST

SPRAYS THE PARTS WITH AN AUTOMOTIVE-GRADE SEALANT.

Narrator: ST1 -- THE "S" STANDS FOR SUPERCHAGER,

THE "T" FOR TURBOCHARGER,

AND "1" INDICATES THAT THIS IS THE COMPANY'S FIRST MODEL.

FEW CARS IN HISTORY HAVE HAD BOTH TURBOCHARGER

AND SUPERCHARGER UNITED IN A SINGLE ENGINE.

HAVING BOTH A SUPERCHARGER AND A TURBOCHARGER

MEANS THAT THE CAR HAS INSTANT THROTTLE RESPONSE,

NO MATTER HOW LOW OR HIGH THE REVS.

HERE, A TECHNICIAN

MOUNTS THE CLUTCH ONTO THE ALUMINUM ENGINE BLOCK.

THIS CLUTCH IS AN ACCESSIBLE COMPONENT

THAT CAN BE EASILY REPLACED IF NECESSARY.

ZENVO ADHERE TO THIS SAME PHILOSOPHY

WHEN DESIGNING THE CAR'S POWERTRAIN.

THEY USE HIGH-QUALITY BUT CONVENTIONAL PARTS,

RATHER THAN EXOTIC,

DIFFICULT-TO-REPLACE COMPONENTS WHEREVER POSSIBLE.

NEXT, THE WORKER

INSTALLS THE COMPRESSOR FOR THE AIR-CONDITIONING.

EVEN WITH THIS ADDITION,

THE ENGINE REMAINS REMARKABLY SMALL,

CONSIDERING HOW POWERFUL IT IS.

YET ANOTHER BENEFIT

OF COMBINING A TURBOCHARGER WITH A SUPERCHARGER.

THE INTAKE MANIFOLD OF THE ZENVO ST1

HOUSES A LIQUID-TO-AIR INTERCOOLER.

THIS PROVIDES THE ENGINE WITH COOL AIR

TO MAXIMIZE ITS EFFICIENCY.

THE CORES OF THE INTERCOOLER ARE LONG CYLINDERS

MADE OF DOZENS OF EXTREMELY THIN ALUMINUM DISCS STACKED TOGETHER.

THEY PROVIDE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SURFACE AREA

IN A VERY SMALL SPACE.

AS THE WATER PUMP MOVES COLD WATER THROUGH THOSE CORES,

THE DISCS ABSORB THE HEAT FROM THE CHARGED AIR

AND DISPERSE IT.

COMBUSTION ENGINES NEED AIR TO WORK.

A SUPERCHARGER IS ESSENTIALLY A VERY SOPHISTICATED AIR PUMP.

IT BOOSTS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ENGINE

BY FORCING IN EXTRA AIR.

ZENVO'S ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

WAS DEVELOPED ENTIRELY IN HOUSE FROM SCRATCH.

AS A RESULT, THE MANUFACTURER

HAS COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE CAR'S PARAMETERS.

HERE, A METAL-CUTTING MACHINE

SAWS A LONG ALUMINUM ROD INTO SMALL DISCS.

THANKS TO ITS REMARKABLY LOW DENSITY,

ALUMINUM CAN BE CUT EASILY AND QUICKLY.

HOWEVER, THE PROCESS GENERATES HEAT FROM FRICTION.

TO KEEP THE SAW BLADE FROM OVERHEATING,

A CONSTANT STREAM OF LIQUID IS APPLIED.

THE ALUMINUM DISCS

THEN GO TO A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED FIVE-AXIS MILLING MACHINE.

THE MACHINE HAS MULTIPLE STATIONS,

ALLOWING IT TO WORK ON MULTIPLE COMPONENTS

AT THE SAME TIME.

THIS MACHINE CAN SHAPE A ZENVO FUEL CAP IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES

WITH EXTREME PRECISION.

WORKING FROM THE TOP DOWN, THE CUTTING TOOL SCULPTS

THE ALUMINUM SO EASILY IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S CARVING A MATERIAL

THAT'S AS SOFT AS WAX.

THE MACHINE MILLS THE FUEL CAP