In 1970 the dream car for Turin Motor Show was intentionally extreme in shapes and technical solutions but anyway thought for mass- production. The starting point is the Volkswagen Porsche 914/16, but there isn't the slightest similarity between this prototype and the production version. The formal trend refers to de Tomaso Mangusta more than the Iguana, presented a year before. Softness and litheness give way to sharp lines, straight radii, and pronounced corners.
The wedge is used here for the first time, and it will be used again in many other cars in years to come. Doors and hoods are very exotic and considered fancy solutions for the time, like seagull wings opening the doors for passengers and engine. This solution imposed the design of a "cross" steel central structure that carries the hinges of doors and hoods longitudinally while transversally becoming a roll-bar. Lights, foldaway are protected by a square overhang.
Volkswagen Porsche Tapiro was bought by a private collector but faced a cruel fate: in the 80s, this unique prototype was found wholly burned after a car accident.
The Porsche Tapiro was designed in 1970 by Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign. It was Giugiaro’s 4th prototype at Ital and one of his favorites at the time. It was based on the Porsche 914/6 platform and featured a mid-mounted 2.4 liter flat 6 cylinder Porsche engine, giving 220 bhp and 7200 rpm. Their car had gullwing doors, and the windscreen profile was almost the same angle as the bonnet. Its dimensions were 4060 mm long, 1760 mm wide, and 1110 mm high.
Sources: www.italdesign.it; Lotusespritturbo.com
Images: ItalDesign; Concept Car Central