Denmark is seen as the world’s least corrupt country, according to the 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index, and it’s rated as the second most peaceful by the Global Peace Index. But before we all decamp there, remember that it’s rubbish at cars. Or it was until now, for the Danes have entered the supercar fray with this, the Zenvo 7 litre turboed and supercharged V8 pumps out a claimed 1,104bhp — 103bhp more than the Bugatti Veyron. Top speed is limited to 233mph, it’ll hit 60mph in less than 3sec, and it costs €750,000. Naturally, it’s wrapped in a carbon-fire body that has weapons-grade visual menace. And no more than 15 will be made.

Jesper Jensen, Zenvo’s co-founder, admits the project is meant to shock. He won’t divulge Zenvo’s location, saying only: “We’re about 45 minutes south of Copenhagen, but I don’t like to say precisely where, because I don’t want people wandering in.”

As you’d expect of a Nordic operation, there’s a refreshing lack of hype or overstatement from Zenvo. Jensen says the concept has been simmering for the past decade, came off the back burner about five years ago and got the green light in 2005. He describes himself mysteriously as “the administrator”, while his business partner, Troells Vollertsen, is the engineering brains. Vollertsen apparently has form in the racing and tuning industry and a sizeable client base in the Middle East. That’s a territory, of course, in which there is no such thing as too much power. The more the better.

Which probably explains the Zenvo ST1’s colossal power output, its vast 1104bhp putting it right up there with horsepower titans such as the Koenigsegg CCXR, SSC Ultimate Aero, 9ff GT9 . . . and the aforementioned Veyron. If you think that positions the Danes firmly in an area in which fantasy and reality become indistinguishable, you’re not reckoning on the stoic Nordic temperament, because this car is for real.

“We realised that Denmark had no design or engineering heritage in this field,” Jensen admits, “which was why we didn’t reveal anything at all until we were 100% ready. We didn’t want to make promises we could not keep. Even some of our suppliers and partners were cynical to begin with.

“But we had the correct finance in place before we started the project, and we paid them properly up-front. When they saw the finished car, they said, ‘Now we believe you — now we’re interested!’

“Look, we’re Danish. Which means we respect deadlines and know how to deliver something on budget. Perhaps we have been a bit cautious, but we didn’t want to exaggerate the car’s capability. The top speed, for example . . . I think we can go quite a bit faster than the figure we are currently quoting.”

Jensen says full testing of the car has been under way for well over a year, and insists it’s very driveable despite its enormous performance potential. “With this much power, traction is always an issue,” he admits, “but we have developed our own two-stage traction and stability system. In the normal mode, my wife could simply get in and drive this car. In ‘beast’ mode — I’m sorry, I haven’t thought of a better name for it yet — it is a challenging car, and it will spin its wheels in fourth gear if you are trying hard enough. But the handling is amazing and it is perfectly easy to drive.”

The ST1 uses a steel chassis clothed in carbon-fibre body panels. The engine’s block is sourced from an American supplier — the identity of which Jensen refuses to confirm — but it is suspiciously similar to the Corvette Z06. Intriguingly, it uses both a belt-driven supercharger and an exhaust-gas-driven turbocharger to guarantee as linear a power delivery

as possible (the supercharger helps low-rev flexibility, while the turbo works at higher speeds). The transmission is a six-speed manual with a Zenvo-developed twin-plate clutch. Ohlins, the suspension expert, supplies the adjustable gas-hydraulic shock absorbers, and the suspension is a double-wishbone setup all round. The brakes are enormous ventilated steel discs, and the ST1 wears 335/30x20 tyres at the rear, and 255/35x19 at the front.

The car’s styling is the work of Christian Brandt, an RCA graduate and former Alfa Romeo designer, who freely admits that part of his brief was to make the car look evil. “It’s longer than the Porsche Carrera GT, and wider than the Lamborghini Murciélago,” he says, “so it’s very extreme.

“But it has great proportions, so it sits on the road like an Audi R8. The Nordic tradition is to be very ‘consequent’ with our design themes, which is what we’re aiming for, inside and out. We also realise that at this level there must be absolutely no compromise with quality.”

Like Jensen, Brandt knows the stakes couldn’t be higher for the first supercar from Denmark, but he is bullish. “When we say we’ll do something, we actually do it. That’s just our way. There is no bullshit.”

Hot wheels specs

ENGINE 7000cc, V8 supercharged, turbocharged
POWER 1,104bhp @ 6900rpm
TORQUE 1,055 lb ft @ 4500rpm
TRANSMISSION Six-speed manual, twin-plate clutch
FUEL / CO2 n/a
ACCELERATION 0-62mph: less than 3sec (approx)
TOP SPEED 233mph (limited)
PRICE €750,000 (£675,000, approx)
TAX BAND G (£400 a year)
VERDICT Denmark’s surprise supercar sensation
RELEASE DATE Summer 2009