E.C. Only One P8: YOUR Supercar
E.C. ONLY ONE P8
YOUR SUPERCAR
Words by Carlo Brema
Photos by Arnoldas Ivanauskas
It has to be the twelfth time I delete and write from scratch the introduction of this article. I have gone through the most picturesque ways in order to bring out the subject to which we will go shortly, but in the end I never felt satisfied. I have not yet found the ideal way to do justice to the adventure in which Enea Casoni launched himself, a former racing driver in GT territories of international level and challenging the wheels of cars such as Lotus and Saleen. Then, after numerous attempts, I realized that it is not the right introduction that is needed here, it was not time for effective phrases, high-sounding proclamations or comparisons with the supercars that have covered our bedroom walls once children, because this time the argument is way closer to each and every one of us. A dream car should never be chosen for a specific reason, but rather for a feeling, an emotion that is able to transmit, so now try to imagine what your ideal car would be if you could really feel it as a part of you. Not something elitist, not even a limited edition, but a real unique example, a single piece in the world and different from all the others: yes, it exists and it is called E.C. Only One and as the name suggests there is only one of those, or rather there will be different, but each one different from the other.
The ambitious project of the engineer Casoni has been outlined after a pretty short gestation, but inside him, the desire to offer car guys what they have always dreamed of was beating in the heart for some time. The basic idea is simple: a supercar that aesthetically and mechanically is able to meet the needs of the individual customer, with a customization that makes it a real extension of the deepest driving desires of those who have petrol instead of blood in their veins. In reality it is not so easy to imagine how to turn this project into something concrete, but the Only One P8 is here to amaze and what better way to present to the world a new way of approaching with a car that pays tribute to racing prototypes from the 70s and 80s? You will start looking at it as you would with a beautiful woman, with admiration but with a pinch of shyness and respect that is compulsory right in front of the incarnation of your most intimate desires. The P8 has come to life around the shapes of a Ferrari F430 Scuderia, but to tell the truth it has practically nothing to do with the “donor car”, since the structure of the car itself has been profoundly modified thanks to the use of a molybdenum steel tubular, bringing the height from the ground to just 1.08 meters. In short, you do not get on board, but you slide down in a carbon shell devoted to the realization of your automotive nirvana.
The design certainly covers a fundamental aspect, on this P8 as on your hypothetical Only One, but speaking of this particular model, we appreciate the gull-wing doors and the long tail reminiscent of racing prototypes whizzing on the track when crossing the finish line at the end of the race meant that even on that occasion you had brought your skin home. Every inch exudes passion for racing with which Enea Casoni wanted to impregnate his first work. It is a car with a timeless shape, with curves that move something inside the stomach and upset every concept of beauty and functionality. The weight is reduced to 1,200 kg and the V8 of the F430 has been brought from 4.3cc to 4.7cc, for a maximum power of 600 horsepower at 8,640 revs per minute. The fact is that just for reaching 5,000 rpm you have to be at peace with yourself and do not be afraid of cornering speeds that confirm their brotherhood with those that are used to eat cereals and curbs at breakfast.
But the beauty of the Only One is not only to push its limits in a circuit environment, but the fact that the car is regularly usable on the road and ready to demonstrate its innate ability on a mountain path, distorting the sense of speed thanks to a maniacal and obsessive search for the maximum expression of the man-machine relationship.
In short, a car for real men I would say, but it is precisely here that the genius of engineer Casoni comes back to emphasize that this is nothing more than the realization of what he wants from a supercar. Everyone has different needs, he wanted a car engineering-wise tailored for him and he realized it. And now it is ready to use the experience and the information acquired to create your ideal supercar. The Only One P8 is not only breathtaking performance and massacring the backbone due to direction changes worthy of a racing car, it is a car for purists, a chimera that has to be driven abruptly, fiddling with the 6-speed gearbox and dog ring clutch with single-disc always ready to exalt any slight feedback you feel once at the wheel. In a world where we are constantly assisted by hundreds of electronic aids, the P8 promises to provide the primordial reactions of a supercar of a different era, also using a traction control with as many as 12 different settings and combine the added value of a tailor made configuration to the possibility of having in your hands a car that responds positively to your desires concerning spotless nuances of delivery, traction and the power of a naturally aspirated engine, the ultimate way to fall in love with the P8 before reaching the end of the Adria Circuit straight.
Personally, if I could have configured my Only One I would have done it just like that. I can’t ask for anything better, if not the hope that those numerous and true enthusiasts out there can touch the work of a visionary, a man who takes us by the hand and drag us into that era when a car was a dispenser of dreams and not just an expensive way to move quickly along the Earth’s axis. The initial production is set at 30 units, still with naturally aspirated and more powerful engines, keeping in the center of everything a unique line that knows how to act as a bridge with the legendary sports cars that have made titanic the world of racing a few decades ago and performances perfectly in line with contemporary standards. And then your imagination comes into play and the opportunity of making you satisfied right until its last bolt, starting from a minimum price of about € 1,500,000 (compared to the € 2,500,000 of the model you behold here), but then the question it’s not if this really worth it, but if you’re ready to see your ultimate supercar take shape and then find yourself face to face with your most intimate desire.