As with previous years, the 2006 Bologna Motor Show played host to a variation of interesting activities displaying automotive culture. Of these included the third edition of “L’Auto che Vera” sponsored by Promotor International and ANFIA, the Italian Coachbuilders’ Federation.

The event aims to ignite the fantasy and the curiosity of the public by presenting cars and concepts developed by leading Italian design houses. The display focuses on concept cars and prototypes which anticipate models of the future, to become potential protagonists of the market. The works represent a world of innovation and technology that is playing an increasingly important role in the automotive field, with its ability to create strong ties between the world of research and industrial design. The 560m2 display area accommodates the most innovative products of Bertone, Zagato, Fioravanti, Autostudi, I.DE.A and Carcerano. Models and drawings from the IAAD (the Institute of Applied Art and Design of Turin) are also visible, showing students’ visions on cars of the future.

Autostudi presented their innovative and stylish miniSUV concept, a three-seat B-segment SUV characterised by its unusual form and simplicity. The concept uses a central driving position to increase the level of safety, whereas the entire passenger compartment is based around a spherical structure.

Two of the concepts on display are based of the well received Fiat Grande Punto. The Bertone Suagnà interprets the theme of the coupé-cabriolet with aggressive elegance, achieving levels of roominess and comfort unknown in this segment. The name comes from the adjective “suagnà” which, in Piedmontese dialect, means a job done painstakingly, paying scrupulous attention to every detail. Developed around a diesel-powered Fiat Grande Punto, the Bertone Suagnà has extremely dynamic graphics which elaborate on a theme dear to Bertone: an open sports car, dedicated to young drivers, accessible to the general public, agile and easily handled, with a strong, sparkling personality. The Bertone Suagnà opens another chapter in the long-running collaboration between Bertone and the Fiat brand which, in over ninety years, has produced more than 45 models, one-off proposals, concept cars and mass-produced cars. The interior of the Suagnà is particularly advanced, with packaging offering roomy accommodation for four adults, including 95th percentile front passengers.

Also part of the display in Bologna, and using the theme of a folding-hardtop concept based on the Fiat Grande Punto, is the Fioravanti Skill. 
 

A strict two-seater design, the Skill is aimed at young couples with an active and sporty lifestyle. The folding hardtop roof revolves and slots between the seats and the generous rear luggage deck. The rear deck can accommodate bulky sports equipment such as bicycles, jet skis and snowboards.

The oldest concept on display was the Lampo by I.DE. A. Institute, an advanced styling concept from 1994. The proposal is an off-road coupe, a vehicle with a global sport attitude. The concept, a communication exercise of future trends, combined existing volumes with new advanced perspectives which can be seen in some of today’s production models, such as the Fiat Grande Punto.

Other concepts included a new compact city vehicle by Carcerano under the name of Sonny, and the Zagato Lancia Aprilia Sport reconstruction. The later was conceived by Andrea Zagato to celebrate Lancia’s Centenary, and to do so by recreating the long-lost competition model designed by his grandfather Ugo Zagato in 1938. Only two grainy photographs of the Aprilia Sport remained in the Zagato archives, and by using these scarce sources of information Zagato’s surface engineers recreated a virtual styling model of the long-lost Lancia on the latest CAD software. A traditional wooden buck was then CNC milled to perfection, before Zagato’s experienced panel beaters expertly coachbuilt the aluminium bodywork from scratch. The result is a stunningly perfect recreation of perhaps one of the most beautiful Lancia competition models of all time. The recreation represents Zagato’s unique position to combine their rich history with the latest design methods, yet still very much created from the soul with a hand built aluminium body.

The “Auto che Vera” display sums up the greatness of Italian automotive design in a fascinatingly compact and subtle way. Not only does each car contain an essence of art and beauty unique to Italian culture, but they also contain advanced ideas towards construction, packaging and the predominately important Italian theme: emotion and character.