The Z originally had me thinking that it was some kind of Zagato one-off.
Images Courtesy Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios
Viewers of Marvel Studios’ “She-Hulk” Episode 8, which premiered last week, were treated to an action sequence where our titular protagonist, attorney/hulk Jennifer Walters, squared off against rival attorney/hookup Matt Murdock/Daredevil over her client/his target Eugene Patilio, also known as Leap-Frog.
Patilio is fleeing from Murdock in a small green sports car that we originally coded as a Ginetta of some sort. Credit the car’s diminutive size, British lines and squat stance.
But when searched for the exact model, we came up empty. So we tried TVRs, thinking we just got our British micro-marque wrong. Again, strikeout.
Finally, social media provided us with the answer. A hat tip to Rick Cone on this one, but the little green sportster that gets only a few seconds of precious screen time from Uncle Mickey is the Zolfe Orange. Solved.
“Wait, what the hell is a Zolfe Orange?” you ask.
Great question, and one that’s hardly any easier to answer today than it was last week when we were searching for it.
The Orange originally debuted at a British motor show in 2006, powered by a 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa engine hooked to a Miata transmission. By 2008, the wheelbase had been stretched slightly to accommodate car-based powerplants for the “production” version, and the company’s display model was powered by a Duratec Ford 2.3-liter engine–although Ford- and Miata-based power were slated to be available for the customer versions, which were now also being called the GTC4.
There was some engineering lineage there, too, as the chassis was reworked from 2006 to 2008 by the former technical director of Caterham Cars, but it’s pretty unclear what happened to the cars and the Worcestershire, U.K., company between 2008 and its dissolution in 2016.
Honestly, it’s unclear whether there were even cars, plural, or if only the single development mule was constructed.
A drive by the U.K.’s Autocar magazine in 2012 appears to be in the same orange-colored Orange development car from 2008, although the testers were quite impressed with the performance of the 280-horsepower, sub-1500-pound car.
The green car depicted in "She-Hulk" still wears the same orange “Z” logos on the seat headrests as well as on the nose and the front fenders.
There is one major difference in the Marvel depiction, aside from the color: They seem to have pulled a reverse “Corvette Summer” by moving the steering wheel to the other side of the car.
Of course, this would be quite simple to pull off digitally, so we’re still not convinced there’s more than a single car that actually exists. The car also suffered some on-screen damage, but, again, we’re assuming that was a virtual car getting Hulk-smashed, not a real one.
Or maybe the producers bought the last of Zolfe’s molds at a garage sale and built their own stunt cars.
How this particular, and maybe only, Zolfe Orange/GTC4 ended up in a Marvel/Disney+ streaming series, we applaud the show creators for the deep cut on screen, along with the car’s current caretaker.
The Z originally had me thinking that it was some kind of Zagato one-off.
This is what happens when you want to be the British Warren Mosler but you just don't want to work very hard at it.
Zolfe. My old coworker at AutoTrader tried to import them a decade ago. They had one up and running with Miata drivetrain and cluster, but the emissions hoops were just a pain. They had some deal with Atlanta Motorsports Park too. Cool car, weighs nothing.
slefain said:Zolfe. My old coworker at AutoTrader tried to import them a decade ago. They had one up and running with Miata drivetrain and cluster, but the emissions hoops were just a pain. They had some deal with Atlanta Motorsports Park too. Cool car, weighs nothing.
This space for rent. Reasonable rates. Inquire within.
This is what I love most about GRM. It seems that any four wheeled conveyance imaginable someone that belongs to the forums here will either have intimate personal knowledge of said unit or will know someone who did for real. I love it.
Car... yes... interesting...
There is a show called:
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law !!!!
I really hope this is parody. I have actually seen some clips and NO, CGI characters are still NOT a viable option!
In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :
It's like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon or something.
In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :
It was Frank Boulton and his son Michael Boulton who tried to get the Zolfe distribution going. Frank was big into racing for years.
slefain said:In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :
It was Frank Boulton and his son Michael Boulton who tried to get the Zolfe distribution going. Frank was big into racing for years.
This space for rent. Reasonable rates. Inquire within.
Went to Goodwood Festival a few years ago. Took us about an hour or so just to walk through the parking area eyeballing all the cool obscure British cars we never even heard of.
Displaying 1-10 of 21 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
