1970 Porsche Tapiro Concept
Giugiaro's 4th prototype at Italdesign was this radical Tapiro. It was based on a Porsche 914/6 chassis and used it's mid-mounted, 2.4 litre flat-6 engine. Interesting design elements were gullwing doors for both the passengers and engine compartments, as well as a heavily raked windscreen that matched the front hood.




All images and summaries from www.supercars.net

 

1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron Concept
18/3 was the first of the Bugatti concepts that led to the eventual design of the 16/4 Supercar almost ten years later. Like the 16/4 this concept features a complex engine, specifically the W18 that was from the EB 118 and EB 218 released earlier.

Important design elements are the return of the horse shoe classic radiator, inset front lights, converging front hood and an exposed intake plenium.

 

1968 Bizzarrini Manta Concept
Built from a defunct Bizzarrini race-car, the Manta is one of the more radical prototypes from the sixties. Not only does this sleek supercar bear a Le-Mans-raced chassis, it is one of the first in the world to use a triple seat arrangement.

Inside the cockpit is an odd layout that seats the driver in the middle of the interior with a passenger on either side. The idea was copied from a Ferrari 365 prototype built in 1965 and it was later, more popularly revived with the mighty McLaren F1. With three people seated side-by-side it must be a particularly tight squeeze as much of the available passger footspace is occupied by intrusive wheel wells.

Giorgietto Giugiaro had a personal interest in the car from its inception and he drew up a plan with Giotto Bizzarrini to use his most developed chassis for a radical showcar. This chassis, borrowed from the P538 prototype, was a tubular steel design that was meant to endure the hardship of Lemans and the grunt from a fully tuned Chevrolet V8.

An angular body, somewhat of a 'folded paper' design, was fixed on the chassis and finished up in time for the 1968 Turin Motorshow. A coat of lime green paint ensured that everyone had to look twice. Observers at the show probably saw elements of other Giugiaro cars in the design, like the very similar DeTomaso Mangusta launched just years earlier.

After the show, the striking lime green paint was covered up with a more sedate metallic silver and the car stayed this way for most of its life. Only recently in 2005 did the Manta make a grand return at the Pebble Beach Concours. Fully restored and bearing its original paint scheme, details such as the orange engine vents could be admired once again. Deservedly, it won first in class for Class U, Chevrolet Small Block with European Coachwork.

 

1995 Lamborghini Cala Italdesign Concept
A great collavoration between Italdesign and Lamborghini resulted in this marvelous design concept which was produced for the 1995 Geneva Auto Show. At the time, Automobili Lamborghini had been considering producing a sportscar that could rival the Ferrari 355. To take advantage of this market, Lamborghini had prepared their P140 project but it was unfortunately cancelled due to financial restraints.

Several years later, Italdesign, an independent design studio, revived the P140. Lamborghini, lacking new products, supplied Italdesign with a P140 chassis and engine. It was there were Giorgetto Giugaro exercised his skills to revive the old design.

Giugaro's final shape was a fantastic and like many of his prototypes, the Cala was a fully functional. Infact, it was tested by many journalists after Geneva and most publications had good things to say about the road handling that lived up to usual Lamborghini expectation.

The car itself was built around a bonded sheet aluminum chassis and powered by the P140 V10 engine that produced 400 bhp.

Inside, the Cala had a new upholstery that offered a mix of leathers and suedes. Recaro seats comforted the driver, while wraparound white gauges delivered the necessary information. Also worth mentioning is the targa roof system, which had detachable panels that could be stored behind the seats.

Unfortunately, the Cala concept was completely sidelined when Lamborghini was sold to Audi. However, the concept of producing a V10-powered 'baby Lambo' was not lost and in 2003 the production Gallardo was launched. Gallardo was also an Italdesign project, with Giorgetto's son, Fabrizio Giugaro, taking credit for the design.

The sole Cala prototype still survives. It is housed at Italdesign's museum where its timeless design can be appreciated by all.

 

1972 Maserati Boomerang Concept
The Maserati Boomerang was first displayed as a non-functional model at the Turin Motor Show in 1971. By the Geneva Salon in March 1972, it had been transformed into a fully operational vehicle. The mechanics were borrowed from Maserati, the engine being the race-bred V8 of 4.7 litre, developing no less than 310 hp and good for an indicated top speed of 300 km/h. One journalist observed it looked as though it was doing a hundred miles an hour standing still! It was then, until 1974, successively shown at the Paris, London and Barcelona motor shows and was unanimously praised for its audacity.

Unlike now, it was not uncommon for manufacturers and coachbuilders to sell their concept cars when they had served their purpose. After the Barcelona show, the Boomerang remained in Spain and was eventually sold to a cabaret owner in Benidorm. The former owner a noted Maserati enthusiast discovered it there during a holiday trip in 1980 and could not resist the temptation of buying it as he had first seen the car eight years earlier and had only able to purchase a model of it. After a careful restoration, it re-appeared for the first time in the 1990 Bagatelle Concours in Paris, where Giorgetto Giugiaro was a judge and proudly hand-signed the rear panel.

Condition

Upon acquisition by the present owner, the Boomerang was found to have required some refreshing of its older largely cosmetic restoration. It was therefore entrusted to marque specialist Paul Grist's Traction Seabert company, with the remit of returning the car to road usable order.

Over a period of 18 months, the car was systematically worked through and perfected in terms of mechanical and importantly electronic function. Early in 2003 this work was completed, at a cost of some £20,000.

Since then the car has been road-registered by the current owner and used. On its return to Europe for sale, it has once again been checked over and readied for future ownership.

Though road use is not its primary vocation, it is comforting to know that the car drives well, its engine, transmission, suspension, brakes and steering all working as they should and the comprehensive recent work that has ensured that all the electronic aspects function, provides an entertaining insight into the how the future was seen, and comparison with its reality today.

It does show some traces of use, but presents well and where possible is still as originally shown in the early 1970s. It is often considered that this the fourth sports car concept introduced by the young Italdesign after its inception also proved to be the most influential. Its unforgettable wedge shaped body was the inspiration for some small series Maseratis, for the Lotus Esprit, which continued in production for nearly thirty years and, significantly, for the hugely popular Golf Mk1 that VW had asked Giugiaro to pen and was marketed in 1974.

Christies Sale @ Retromobile 2005

On Saturday 12 February 2005, Christie's International Motor Cars Department sold the Boomerang for $1 000 000 within the confines of Retromobile.

 

1991 Italdesign Nazca C2 Concept
In the early nineties, Italdesign was itching to enter the supercar market. The first prototype they completed was the Italdesign M12. This car featured a version of the V12 engine found in the BMW 750i and 850i. Giorgetto Giugiaro, Italdesign's founder was responsible for the styling, and before the car went into production, he wanted to make it more radical.

In late 1991, Giugiaro restyled the M12 into the car that became known as the C2. The car was very similar to the M12 except the newer C2 featured an Alpina-tuned V12. This was the same unit found in the Alpina B12.

Sadly, the Nazca project never made it beyond the prototype phase. Three prototypes were made and are driven regularly. The last appearance of a C2 was at the 2002 Supercar Rally.

 

2005 Ferrari GG50 Concept
For the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, Giorgetto Giugiaro is displaying a custom Ferrari fastback to epitomize his debut into the world of car design in September 1955. Ferrari, of course, are supporting the car since Giugiaro is responsible many important cars including the one-of Bertone 250 GT.

Giugiaro started to work on the project in February 2005, sketching entirely by hand – a practice he has followed for the last 50 years. He started with the basic lines of the 612 Ferrari supercar, then began to shrink the design, eventually making it nine centimeters shorter. As a result, the GG50 is more compact than the series-production car and this is exemplified by the subtly rounded nose and tail angles.

Created along the lines of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, and retaining the same basic mechanics, the Ferrari GG50 is shorter and has a fastback tail which conceals an underlying hatchback lid. To make use of the third door, the rear seatbacks can be folded down thanks to the relocation of a new fuel tank.

With the rear seatbacks folded down, the redesigned fuel tank layout translates into a flat trunk platform one meter and 40 centimeters deep. Compared to the 240-liter loading capacity of the Scaglietti, the loading capacity offered by the GG50 stretches to 270 liters, which, with the rear seatbacks folded down, increases to 500 liters. In a strategic intent to take full advantage of the bolt-on loading space driven through by the new fuel tank layout, Giugiaro decided to use a proper hatchback lid, hinged to the roofs edge.

From a structural standpoint, Italdesign engineers had to redesign the rear cross-member which, in the Scaglietti, joins the suspension domes atop the fuel tank. Likewise, also added to the roofs edge was a cross-member, joined to two reinforced risers, to stand the hatchback trunk lid's weight.

While the interior of the car remains virtually stock, Giugiaro should be congratulated for creating such a beautiful design that keeps perfectly within Ferrari tradition.

 

2004 Toyota Alessandro Volta Concept
Italdesign-Giugiaro and Toyota have collaborated to produce a stunning new concept for the Geneva Motor Show. It features the new Lexus RX400h's hybrid powertrain, combined with a carbon fibre chassis and sports car body engineered and produced by the famous Italian style and development company.

With a top speed of 250 km/h, 0-100 km/h acceleration in a scorching 4.03 seconds, and a range of some 700 km, the Toyota Alessandro Volta concept car proves it is possible to offer high performance in a car whose green credentials are unimpeachable. The car is named after Alessandro Volta, the Italian scientist who discovered the battery.

The hybrid powetrain is mounted in a midship position, as the front wheels are powered by the second electric motor, generating 4-wheel traction without the need for a transmission shaft. Consequently, the vehicle's flat floor permitted Italdesign to house three passengers in a 4.3-metre long coupe which is slightly narrower than 2 meters.

The Toyota Alessandro Volta is a styling exercise aimed at exploring new applications of the Hybrid synergy Drive technology. Toyota is proud to have collaborated with the prestigious Italdesign-Giugiaro on a concept that further demonstates the potential and flexibility of the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology.

Innovative layout

Toyota furnished to Italdesign-Giugiaro a derivative of its ultimate hybrid system, the one adopted on the Lexus RX 400. On the Volta, the 3.3 liter V6 petrol engine is fitted behind the rear axle and not connected directly to the wheels. Indeed, motion is ensured by two electrically powered engines, one per axle thereby securing all-wheel drive and enhanced safety .As such, this mechanical layout paves the way to eliminating the traditional transmission and gearbox longitudinal encumbrance.

Housed under the lightweight, carbon-fiber chassis are the batteries weighing 154 lbs (70 kg). ''Without doubt, 70 kg of batteries represent a significant increase in weight. However, it should be recalled that an all-wheel drive for a mid/upper range model caps 100/120 kgs. As such, resorting to the hybrid has paved the way towards creating a compact, light and socially responsible sports car with allwheel drive,'' says Fabrizio Giugiaro.

Interior

'As a rule, Fabrizio Giugiaro confirms, a sports car with a central engine expands lengthwise: engine, drivetrain and suspension push through significant weight and occupy significant space to the detriment of passenger legroom. With Alessandro Volta, we have confirmed the same performances attaining better weight distribution and more comfortable seating. Indeed, thanks to the flat floor, I set my mind to building a decidedly innovative interior geared towards the 3-seat offering and a flexible steering wheel and pedal board clamping.''

As a result of adopting the By Wire technology, the pedal board and steering wheel can slide along strips, whether to the right, center or left.

Conclusion

Also for the Volta, Italdesign-Giugiaro went beyond the shell, utilizing its testing and engineering department to design the carbon fiber chassis, the push-rods and the mechanisms regulating pedal/steering column block traslability, whilst its prototyping construction workshops to finailize the styling model and operational prototype.

''With the Volta - Fabrizio Giugiaro concludes - we have reconciled top performance with low gas emissions and noiseless operation. And when one drives through a historic town center, a supercar of this genre does not fret at low speed: at 20/30 km/h, the driver can switch to the absolutely silent electric engine. Sheer pleasure from the historic town center to the racetrack''

 

2002 Italdesign Moray Corvette
The Moray project, which is presented at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, embodies the homage that Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro wish to pay to the fifty-year era of the Chevrolet Corvette, the supreme symbol of the American sports car.

Realized without hesitation on Corvette mechanics and chassis, the outcome of seeking out a sports car designed as an elegant extreme leaps into the limelight carrying a pure profile, designed as though touched by drifting tides with long and slender front lights, bringing immediately to the mind the Moray, the English term for the eel-type fish, muraema helena, found in Mediterranean waters.

Also resembling a moray rippling through sea waters is the sinuous contour line, whilst shaping the elongated front section - an unmistakable look of the Corvette grille- to a far stronger, more accentuated curvature is the serpentine bonnet (which projects frontward) forming a contrast with the upraised cut-off tail.

Hinged to the rear door frame, thereby assuring freedom of access to the inside of the car, the clear crystal semi-dome of the doors - by which the side window and roof merge into one complete unit swings open like a seagull on wing.

Quick and simple to remove, these door wings ease the way to transforming the Moray from a coupé, with its unmistakable roof panel under the unique, clear crystal dome, into a quasi roadster. The direct, immediate feeling of fresh-air motoring is enhanced by removing the B door frame. This is replaced by a central arch-shaped steel structure to which the two wings are hinged.

In perfect symbiosis with the fresh and free extreme of the car, there are no side-mirrors, which have been replaced by a telecamera system with dashboard-integrated viewers. The bodyshell and paintwork color blends into the capsule, becoming one and the same. Only those surfaces inside the car touched by the driver or passenger are warmed by soft leather upholstery made with the cooperation of Dräxlmaier Group. Essential to catering the needs and preferences of the dynamic driver are dashboard-fitted instruments. Underlined by the same dashboard layout, assigned to the passenger are precise co-pilot functions.

Cool, sleek and supremely agile, of exceptional beauty and legerdemain like the sea creature from which it takes its name, the Moray is fitted with a powerful Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine, the longitude front-mounted six-liter, which reaches command of more than 400 horsepower, combined with a perfect balance ensured from the ground up by Michelin Pilot sport 335/30 ZR20 rear tyres.

 

Cool post, thanks! Love the Nasca C2.

 

Personally Italdesign is one of my favorite car design firms which brought out legends such as Giorgetto Giugiaro and now the second generation of the family in Italdesign, Fabrizio Giugiaro.

 

Sweet post. Thanks!

 

1970 Porsche Tapiro Concept
1968 Bizzarrini Manta Concept
1972 Maserati Boomerang Concept
-all look somewhat similar.

the ferrari gg50 & toyota looks good to me.

 

Thanks for sharing, +1.