Zato, the turbodiesel sports car from Germany
It must have sounded like a recipe for a secure future in the nineties. A lightweight sports car with a turbodiesel four-cylinder engine that was to consume between three and four liters of diesel per 100 km. Zato L3 was the name of the car with a carbon fiber chassis, which was built by the company "Zato Gesellschaft für Fahrzeugentwicklung mbH" in Niederbreitbach. At the time, Automobil Revue described the car as a German alternative to the Lotus Elise and said: "finally a turbodiesel sports car".
The TDI engine came from Audi, produced 90 hp and probably had no trouble with the 670 kg two-seater. Around 200 km/h should be possible and a fuel consumption of 3.4 liters per 100 km. James Kelly had designed the car, Dirk Krämer and Armin Plietsch were responsible for the technology.
The aim was to produce 36 cars a year and sell them at prices starting at DM 128,000 (around CHF 100,000) to customers who were not keen on compromises, as the car had no doors and was quite flat at 98.5 cm high.
The first car was built in 1996, probably not many more than a handful were built, and the last car was completed in 2001. Perhaps it was better this way, because a few years later the concept no longer sounds so attractive and in many places you are no longer allowed to drive it into the city center these days ...
