The Man Who Designed The Ferrari Enzo Just Created His Own V12 Supercar

The supercar world has no shortage of absurdly powerful machines, but every once in a while, something comes along that takes a refreshingly different approach. The Kode89 is one of those cars. Unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance during Monterey Car Week, the latest creation from Ken Okuyama Cars looks like it escaped from an alternate reality where the 1980s and 1990s never ended.

The low-slung machine with edgy styling measures 181.5 inches (4,611 millimeters) long and 78.6 inches (1,996 mm) wide, but stands only 44.8 inches (1,139 mm) tall. There’s a long, low body, a wide stance, and an intentionally uncluttered design that relies on shape rather than excessive aerodynamic trickery to make an impression.

Ken Okuyama Cars developed its own chassis, using an aluminum space frame with a longitudinally mounted mid-engine V12. In the base model, the Kode89 makes 540 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 420 pound-feet (569 Newton-meters) of torque from a 5.4-liter unit. However, Japanese magazine Response reports that a larger 5.9-liter engine from a local tuner will deliver around 750 hp in a flagship version. A gated manual routes power to the rear wheels.

Limited To Eight Cars. Three Have Already Been Sold

Ken Okuyama Cars plans to build just eight examples, making it considerably more exclusive than even many established supercars. The first car was unveiled at Pebble Beach, and two cars scheduled for production this year have already been sold.

Buyers will also have considerable freedom when specifying their cars. Ken Okuyama Cars says customers will collaborate with a car concierge to tailor everything from a more hardcore, stripped-down configuration to a considerably more luxurious interpretation.

The company is led by Ken Okuyama, who spent time at Pininfarina and helped design some of the world’s most famous sports cars, including the Ferrari Enzo. He later founded his own coachbuilding operation in Japan, with previous projects including the Kode 0 and Kode 57 based on the Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari 599, respectively. Some will also remember the Kode 9 underpinned by a Lotus Elisse chassis, but this new model is an in-house project.

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Source: Ken Okuyama Design

Motor1’s Take: The Kode89 feels like a deliberate rejection of almost everything modern supercars have become. There’s no giant battery pack, no screaming horsepower figure in the four digits, no dual-clutch gearbox, and no attempt to hide the mechanical bits behind layers of technology. Instead, you get a naturally aspirated V12, a six-speed manual, an aluminum chassis, carbon-fiber bodywork, and a remarkably low curb weight.

The fact that only eight will be built makes the Kode89 more of a collector’s piece than something we’ll ever see regularly on the road. But that’s arguably beside the point. Ken Okuyama isn’t trying to compete with Ferrari, Lamborghini, or McLaren on volume. He’s creating the kind of car that increasingly feels impossible for a major automaker to build.