DeSimone ZC-10 Azzurro V10 Concept
The one-off DeSimone ZC-10 Azzurro concept car being loaded into a trailer after The California Showcase at IKEA, organized by The Exotics Network (TEN) and Morning Car Club. This car was designed and built by Northern California-based Luke DeSimone, who constructed its chassis at the age of 16. It was completed in 2025 and was displayed at The Paddock Monterey in August during Monterey Car Week. The car is powered by a BMW S85 V10 engine mated to a Porsche 6-speed gearbox. While this car is only a concept, DeSimone is currently developing a new prototype which he plans to produce to compete in the supercar/hypercar segment. The new car is expected to feature a carbon fiber monocoque and be equipped with a hybrid powertrain consisting of a modified S85 engine with a 15,000-rpm redline powering the rear wheels and electric motors powering the front wheels for improved acceleration.
There are lots of dreamers who are too detached from reality to achieve their dreams, and there are lots of builders and engineers who lack the ability to inspire others with their creations. But when someone has both the big dreams and the skills to make them come true, incredible things can happen. Yes, this may be yet another example of someone trying to make it big in the automotive world without having yet felt the force of the headwinds pushing against him. And it's clear this car has a long way to go before it's ready for the showstand. But before you cast your judgment upon it (or its builder), first consider what you were doing with your life at the age of 16. When I was that age, I barely knew how to properly configure a car in "Need for Speed"...
I was very honored to meet and enjoy a chat with Luke after the huge crowds from the event had dispersed, and our conversation still leaves me inspired to this day. Getting this car to where it is now was a journey with no shortage of challenges, each of which he has overcome, including heavy bodywork damage from that very morning that had to be repaired on the spot. In its design I see a lot of Pagani Utopia, Ford GT, and Maserati MC20, but it's a fresh new look that won't be easily mistaken for any of them. Every aspect of this car, whether positive or negative, points to the vision he plans to bring to reality with the new production-bound prototype he is working on. I asked him about the many potential challenges ahead, from securing funding to meeting government regulations to facing heavy competition (not to mention a highly discerning clientele), and he is confident he has considered them all and is ready to face them. Whether talking about design or engineering, there isn't a single detail he has not clearly thought through. As for this particular car, he doesn't drive it hard despite its potent powerplant because, as he humorously admitted, he's not confident in the chassis he constructed as a 16-year-old. But with his focus now on the upcoming car, he told me he envisions this car someday sitting in a museum, being remembered as the first car he ever built. A few decades ago, I had expected Horacio Pagani and Christian von Koenigsegg, both of whom faced similar headwinds, to ultimately succumb to the harsh challenges of the automotive industry. Now, just imagine being able to see in a museum a car they put together by hand as a teenager!
Yes, there's a chance that DeSimone may be another startup that ends up silently slipping into oblivion. But I won't deny that there's also a chance it will someday be an amazing success story, not to mention one that comes with an incredibly cool car. It was so great getting to meet and chat with you, Luke. Thanks for traveling across the state by yourself, living in your trailer, and working unceasingly day and night to share your vision with us here in SoCal. I hope to see you again, and until then, I wish you the very best.
Do you want to see Luke DeSimone's vision of a future production-ready hypercar become reality? Leave a comment on YouTube and let me know!