Ken Okuyama’s Kode 0 revives the glory of 1970s Italian dream cars

Special Cars 3 Sep 2017

At the Quail 2017 event Ken Okuyama has revealed his second one-off, a concept with extreme lines that recall the legendary dream cars of the Seventies.

In the recent years brands like Lamborghini have developed a design DNA with strong, sharp edges, sometimes taken to the extreme with concepts like the Egoista.

The Kode 0 by Ken Okuyama – former Pininfarina designer and creator of the iconic Ferrari Rossa – has brought this trend back to its origin: the glorious days of the extreme dream cars penned by Italian designers such as Marcello Gandini, Nuccio Bertone, Paolo Martin – an era that spanned from the late Sixities to the early Eighties.

The Kode 0 one-off has an extreme wedge-shaped silhouette, a surface treatment of the flanks that reminds of the legendary Stratos Zero, butterfly doors and even visual contrast provided by elements finished in green – a color often used in the past – see concepts like the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo, the 1970 Mazda RX-500 or the 1984 Chevrolet Ramarro.

The concept is based on the Lamborghini Aventador chassis, and is powered by the same V12 6.5 liter engine, coupled with an ISD seven-speed transmission.

Thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber the overall weight is 1550 Kg.

The below video shows the official unveiling of the Kode 0, and Ken Okuyama openly mentions the Stratos Zero, Carabo and the Countach as sources of inspiration.