From Russia with love (by way of Germany): The Rousseau-Balt Impression!
Alright. So we’re a little shaky on our Russian, but we know an eye-catching piece of road sculpture when we
see one. Enter the Rousseau-Balt Impression, a German conceived custom teardrop throwback with a heart of
gold Mercedes. To be revealed today at the Concorso d'.Eleganza Villa d'.Este in Italy, the
retro-mobile is the handiwork of the GERG
GROUP, a design and prototype haus that has worked with companies like Audi, Seat, Bosch, and Eurocopter.
Forgive us for getting a bit lost in the translation, but as far as we can ascertain, this is a carbon-fiber chassis four-seat coupe, with its motivation courtesy Mercedes-Benz’s CL 65 AMG. Interestingly enough, the rear is said to be suitable for use as a sleeping compartment.
While built by a Deutsch concern, the Rousseau-Balt Impression appears to have been conceived by a team of Russian engineers and designers, thus its assertion as a Russian automobile.
The company plans to build around 10-15 copies based on the concept seen here.
Plenty of photographs and background at the link.
[Source: CarDesign.ru]
(Top tip, Greg!)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cervus 1:23PM (4/22/2006)
This looks like some eagle-themed superhero's supercar. Would Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-law drive this? :)
Reply
Chris 1:49PM (4/22/2006)
I would drive this. It looks hot. I'll take it for $3000.
Reply
Richard Warren 1:54PM (4/22/2006)
Different to say the least.
Reply
Greg 3:17PM (4/22/2006)
One more article about Russo-Baltique Impresion in English: http://www.auto-dealer.ru/articles/event_english.php?id=8247
and official Russo-Baltique website (Russian/French only):
http://russobaltique.com
Reply
David 3:19PM (4/22/2006)
Kind of reminds me of the Maybach Exelero. Not as extreme, but still the same idea, classic design in a modern form.
http://www.autoblog.com/2005/05/12/wow-maybach-exelero/
Reply
emulous1974 3:35PM (4/22/2006)
It reminds me of an early 20th Century Alfa Romeo.
Reply
steve 5:25PM (4/22/2006)
It looks like the car from the ambiguously gay superhero cartoon on Saturday Night Live.
Reply
Howard Kerr 8:46AM (4/23/2006)
This looks like what you might get if Subaru commissioned an Italian design studio to design a "successor" to the SVX. I mean, turn that "middle" grille upside down and the front end says Subaru (B9-Tribeca). I really love the wheel...covers? Why is it so hard to come up with a wheel design for a super-expensive car? These look like a Pep Boys reject.
Reply
Noah 4:24PM (4/23/2006)
I agree with #7 it looks like the car from ambiguously gay duo cartoon.
Horible!
--Noah
Reply
Rusty 4:38AM (4/24/2006)
Batmobile gone Platinum!
Reply
SeeSpot 10:14AM (4/24/2006)
It reminds me of one of those butt ugly cars you see driving around once and a while.
Reply
Zarba 3:43PM (4/24/2006)
Take the front end design cues of the newest Alfas, mixed with a bit of the rear of the Alfa Ville D'Este coupe, with some Saoutchik art deco, and voila!
Reply
ARuBa 10:01PM (4/26/2006)
From this angle is not bad at all.
Reply
L'Supreemo 8:41PM (4/29/2006)
Snoop Dog ordered the first three.....
Reply
Justin 12:26PM (5/01/2006)
This car has the same side panels as a Z4
Reply