Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Italdesign Giugiaro Quaranta concept

Beauty may be in the eye of the proverbial beholder and all that, but the Italdesign Quaranta wasn't quite the beauty of the Geneva ball. And while Giorgetto Giugiaro, the celebrated designer at the studio's helm, has more iconic designs to his name than we could possibly list here, his latest was not his best, easily outclassed by the Giugiaro Mustang concept with which we fell so deeply in love and the Ferrari GG50 he built for himself.

The Quaranta concept was built to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Italdesign Giugiaro, and features the Lexus RX400h's mid-mounted hybrid 3.3-liter V6 powerplant driving all four wheels through a CVT and supported by a solar panel on the unfortunately styled nose. Think of archrival Pininfarina's Maserati Birdcage concept crossed with Robocop 3 and you're beginning to get the picture. While we're reassured by the knowledge that this is purely a design study and has no chance of seeing production, we wonder what the future holds if this is what's supposedly pointing towards it.

We managed to assuage our angst long enough to snap off a few photos, which we've added to the gallery below along with the images released by the studio.

Click above for a full high-res gallery of the Italdesign Quaranta concept

Italdesign Giugiaro has been releasing teaser images of its Quaranta concept at an agonizingly slow pace for weeks now, but has finally dropped all its got on the car just days before it will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The Quaranta is actually inspired by the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta concept, and the two take the wedge shape to an extreme. The Quaranta's claim to fame is that it houses a mid-mounted hybrid powertrain supplied by a Toyota. The 3.3L V6 combined with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive produces a combined 268 horsepower and 212 pound feet of torque, which Italdesign claims is good for a 4.05 second run to 62 mph in the lightweight and perfectly balanced Quaranta. At the same time, its pair of fuel tanks integrated into the frame can hold nearly 16 gallons of fuel, good for a 621-mile range. The entire opaque roof is also comprised of solar panels, which run the interior electronics and charge the batteries. The concept can employ two- or all-wheel-drive depending on the conditions, and can also raise its ride height up to a maximum of 9.17 inches. The cockpit of the Quaranta is also a study in far out design, with a 1+3 seating arrangement that places the driver front and center, with two more seats on either side and further back, and a small child seat directly behind the driver.

The Quaranta is a well thought out concept with every aspect of its design backed by a reason and a function. From its shape to its powertrain to its interior ambiance, it will debut in Geneva as a rolling resume for Italdesign's services. And after reading through the lengthy press release that describes every complex system contained in the Quaranta's wedgy shape, we'd be happy to be listed as a reference.


[Source: Italdesign Giugiaro]

Click to view in high resolution

Why do the Italians insist on teasing us so with their curves and sensuality? It seems like the design houses got together and decided to torture us for a few weeks leading up to this year's Geneva Motor Show. Pininfarina's been killing us slowly with the agonizing inch-by-inch unveiling of its Sintesi show car, the Bertones are playing cat and mouse about showing up with their BAT 11 concept altogether, even Giugiaro has joined in the fun.

A third image of Italdesign's forthcoming concept car has now surfaced ahead of schedule, giving us another hint at the design house's latest. Sources suggest it could be called the Quaranta ("forty" in Italiano) to commemorate the firm's fortieth anniversary, while the slogan "nature has never been so powerful" adorning the Italdesign-Giugiaro website suggests the concept will feature some sort of conceptual environmentally-friendly powertrain. With one week to go, we'll just have to sit tight and wait for the car's official debut, which is sure to be flanked by more curvaceous Italian models rivaling even their employer's penchant for teasing.


[Source: Giugiaro via Jalopnik]

Sometimes the past deserves to remain in the past, but once in a while the automotive industry reaches into its history to resurrect something worthwhile whose demise was regrettable and whose return is welcome. The return of coachbuilding is one example of an industry trend we're glad is making a comeback.

Coachbuilding was popular decades ago among the extremely wealthy for whom the ordinary offerings of the automotive industry weren't anywhere near exclusive enough, so they had special bodywork fitted to regular cars to make them their own. Contemporary coachbuilt motors follow the same formula: an existing car fitted with new bodywork, and often customized mechanicals, for the most discerning and obscenely wealthy clients. Results have varied, but variety, as the saying goes, is the spice of life. Here we've chosen our ten favorite examples.

Click on the image above to view our 21 high-resolution images

It's a delicate balance combining American muscle with Italian design. A handful of custom Italian coachbuilt Corvettes managed to marry the two with considerable panache in the late 50's, but most would agree that the Pininfarina-designed Cadillac Allante of the early 90's was a big step backwards. The most recent attempt carried off the combination with beautiful synergy when legendary automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign styling house reinterpreted the classic Ford Mustang in distinctive Italian style. The result was an Italian beauty to rival the best of them, yet faithful to the iconic Mustang shape. Scissor doors and Ford Racing-tuned American muscle under the hood.

When Giugiaro's mouthwatering creation bowed at the Los Angeles auto show several months ago, we called it "rolling automotive pornography". There's no big news here, but we had the pleasure of beholding the show car's beauty when it took the stage again in Detroit, and we were happy to snap a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

Click here or on any of the tantalizing images below to see our high-resolution image gallery of 21 pictures from the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. For some bonus fun, check Autoblog reader Eric's take on what the 2009 Mustang will look like when it adopts some cues from Giugiaro Concept.

Fiat is preparing its new Bravo for debut at Geneva next spring, and photos have surfaced of a test mule tooling around Turin.

Fiat hopes to take aim at the hot-selling Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus with its new Bravo hatch, developed in conjunction with Canadian components supplier Magna. Although the mules are heavily disguised, you can discern a front end influenced by the Italian company's successful Grande Punto, above which the Bravo will slot in the Fiat line-up. Considering the new Punto was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign, that's not a bad thing to emulate.

Fiat needs the Bravo to succeed in order to maintain the positive momentum gained by the success of the new Punto. Although the Bravo won't be reaching American shores, the Alfa 149, which will share share its platform, likely will.

[Source: World Car Fans]