Italdesign-Guigaro of Italy is about to release for Geneva two astounding examples of automotive excellence. As of today Feb 23,2004 we are allowed to release these exclusive photos and press releases our readers around the world....So Enjoy.
ITALDESIGN has been hard at work creating new acheivements in automotive expressions of technology and design. Both the Toyota and Alfa Romero projects have be released in March at the Geneva International Salon De Automobile Show.
The "Volta" is another example of Fabrizio Guigaro's magical powers of orginality to take a mild mannered Lexus power plant, then put a Hybrid electrical "spin" and then package it in a Carbon fiber chassis.
If you take a step back, you must understand that Fabrizio has created an excellent challenge to the Porsche's new all carbon fiber flagship. The Carrera GT costs some 450,000 US Dollars. If the Toyota engine had a "supercharger" then it could take a stab at being in the same class as the Ford GT or Enzo Ferrari !! Also this proves again that ITALDESIGN can deliver a full carbon fiber chassis in an affordable production price range.
Fabrizio's Toyota project offers Toyota a cutting edge answer to creating a upmarket performance car. Beyond what Toyota has offered it's consumers past or present. I know that we will be doing a deeper review in the near future, so stay tuned.
ITAL's Press release describes the Toyota "Alessandro Volta" project as follows:
With the hybrid powered coupe Alessandro Volta, Fabrizio Giugiaro wanted to demonstrate that “green” power plants can also be a high performance car.
Toyota provided to Italdesign-Giugiaro its latest hybrid power plant, the one to be used into the Lexus RX400.
Italdesign-Giugiaro created a specific carbon fibre chassis for this 4.3-meter long coupe.
The car is named after Alessandro Volta, the Italian scientist who discovered the battery.
As the V6 3.3 litre engine is mounted near to the rear axle, there are no transmission shafts, nor exhaust tubes which need a central tunnel in the car. Consequently, the flat floor permitted Italdesign to house three passengers in a coupe which is slightly narrower than 2 meters.
Thanks to the combination of the internal combustion engine and of two electric motors, one for each axle, the Volta has a total output of 300 Kw / 408 hp, reaches 250 kph of top speed and accelerates from 0 to 100 kph in 4.06 seconds. But probably its most striking performance is the ability to cover 700 kms with a 52-litters gasoline tank.
As we all know Alfa Romero and ITALDESIGN have a long history and now we see another new exciting and fresh expression for Alfa Romero showrooms. Ital's press description also gives addtional support to the potential for Alfa Romero based concepts that could be in the near future. The Alfa is Giorgetto's should create a tidal wave of praise from Alfa Romero owners, and steal many new younger owners who are looking for an upscale Italian car that is will not stand in the shadow of the new Maserati 4dr coupe just now hitting the world market.
Also the press statement reaffirms the fact that the Brera coupe will be going into production. The "Visconti" also offers proof of the design freedom that Giorgetto has with Alfa Romero. There are several interesting aspects to the Visconti. All wheel steering and all wheel drive will give the car a performance advantage that sets it apart from Ferrari or Maserati concepts. Once we get under the skin of both the Toyota and Alfa Romero we will be offereing our readers a full and indepth anaylsis, full of diagrams, photos and other treats.
Visconti represents the proposal created by Giorgetto Giugiaro in the throw of freedom for an Alfa Romeo flagship with innovative architecture.
Rather than working on the 4-door 3-volume saloon classic layout, Giugiaro steered a keen eye towards the sporting appeal opting for an architecture focused around 2-volume vehicles, in that the boot appears like a mere flick of the tail.
As always, albeit stirring provocation from a styling point of view, Giugiaro has not stepped away from his personal tradition of creating concept cars that may also go straight into series production.
In truth of word, the Visconti sees inception from a specific evolution of the Premium Platform, as put in place by Alfa Romeo for the Alfa 156 new generation and for the Brera Coupé production.
Fitted with a V6 bi-turbo 3.2 direct injection petrol engine (408 hp), the Visconti is just under five meters in length and less than 1,9 meters in width.
The styling and, not least, the mechanics of the Visconti step beyond the mundane: in fact, the vehicle has been designed and created with all-wheel drive and steering.
Editoral commentary:
It is again our please to help feature and also share the talents of our friends"Giorgetto & Fabrizio Giugiaro"as they again redefine the concept of automotive inspriation for now and the future. The Toyota project should send shock waves all the way to the top of Toyota's executive staff. We can hardly wait for the Giugiaro's Alfa Romero cars to get into production. The future is looking brighter everyday!
