Italian automotive prototype builder Stola, will present their latest concept car, the S86 Diamante, at the 75th Geneva Motor Show on 1st March.

Stola will present this sports car feasibility study in their own words as "a small exercise demonstrating proof of the in-house development and manufacturing potential of the Italian prototype builder."

The last decade has seen the firm, which has over 470 employee's globally, present a host of concepts, based on existing chassis', including their Fiat Barchetta based 'Dedica' and a super-luxury, stretched Lancia Thesis.

Drawn and built in just five weeks, the S86 Daimante represents a 2-seater sports coupé. 4275mm in length, 1930mm wide and 1225mm high, it offers a wheelbase of 2600mm. The car will be just a mock-up though, with no engine or drivetrain in place.

Stola was founded in 1919 by Alfredo Stola and by the 1930's the company, based in Turin, had become one of the leading names in the construction of full scale mock-ups of cars, while the next decade saw its expertise expanded in the truck and military sector.
 

The post-war period saw Stola branch out into both Europe and Japan, while in 1960, Alfredo's three sons took over the prototype building business, and the iron foundry which had recently been added to the firm's operation.

The latter decades of the last century saw Stola evolving into the use sheet metal and CAD/CAM techniques, while notable developments included input into the Fiat Punto's bodywork production at the Melfi plant. Five years ago the company underwent a major expansion with the setting up of a new Brazilian factory.

Recent high profile show work from Stola has included the 1996 roofless Fiat Barchetta-based 'Dedica', the 1998 Monotipo, also based on the Barchetta but boasting a Lancia Intergrale turbocharged engine, the 2000 Stola S81, which aimed to update the Lancia Stratos theme, and finally the stretched limousine Lancia Thesis, presented in Geneva a year ago.