06 Mar 08
Design studio Italdesign is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a concept called Quaranta.
Giorgetto Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio unveiled this wedge-shaped, angular-looking vehicle, described as an 'extreme' yet 'environmentally-friendly' product.
Giugiaro says inspiration was taken from the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta, the first monospace concept car with centrally-mounted engine and drivetrain.
It's a 3+1-seater super-coupe, with the driver centrally-positioned ahead of two front-seat passengers to each side, and an extra small child seat behind the driver. Its body is a single-volume, cab-forward design, without separate 'boxes' for powertrain, cabin and boot, but with upward/outward opening side doors.
Its chassis is carbonfibre and its body panels aluminium, to save weight. The mid-mounted hybrid, four-wheel-drive powertrain system is derived from Toyota; electric motors drive both front and rear axles, working with the 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine to deliver performance equivalent to that of a conventional V8. The batteries are recharged with energy captured from the roof's solar panels; these can generate up to 250 watts, enough to power the air conditioning system.
The cabin benefits from a completely flat floor, as the electric four-wheel-drive system does not demand a gearbox/transmission tunnel. The dashboard features two levels of screens, showing info from around-view cameras and x-ray night-vision sensors. Giugiaro points out that the multi-control steering wheel was a feature it used in its 1980 Medusa concept car, and the Quaranta's wheel has all control functions incorporated into its design. It's all upholstered in dark leather and alcantara.
Built around a carbon monococque frame with aluminium and steel parts, the Quaranta's windscreen and roof are made from stratified glass. All its weight - bar that of the radiator and rear luggage compartment - is contained within the axles, giving optimum weight balance, and Giugiaro has developed an F1-style central mono-shock system for the suspension. The ride height can be selected to give up to 230mm of ground clearance.
Check out the rest of our Geneva Motor Show coverage.
