28.11.2002 27TH BOLOGNA MOTOR SHOW
>>> 27th Bologna Motor Show Preview: Lancia Grandturismo |
The suprise guest of honour
on the Lancia stand in Bologna is the Lancia Granturismo, a concept car
of great stylistic appeal. More than that, it is a veritable live testing
ground for the shapes and motifs of Lancia cars to come. After being shunned
by Lancia at its world premiere in Paris in September, this repositioning
represents a significant shift.
The prototype, the result of a joint venture between the Lancia Style Centre, Studio Carcerano and Carrozzeria Maggiora, and based on the Thesis floorpan and mechanicals, represents a meeting point between a quest for good looks and computerised and virtual technology. The car measures 4260 mm in length, 1920 mm in width and 1410 mm in height and from the outside features an essential purity of form that is a living embodiment of the slogan 'less is more'. This piece of modern art features great dynamism coupled with beautiful proportions. This stylistic feature, so typical of Lancia tradition, is permanently back in our brief since the advent of the Thesis flagship. The Granturismo thus offers us the sculpted quality of many models dating from the Fifties and Sixties without ever losing sight of Lancia's need for its own expressive language. The Granturismo also features HPE (High Performance Estate) architecture, a famous name from the Seventies. The Lancia Granturismo is
built on Thesis mechanicals and equipped with a roomy, welcoming, fully
glazed passenger compartment while a long bonnet gives visual emphasis
to the front wheel drive layout. The front end is also a sporty take on
the Lancia flagship's leader's distinctive physiognomy, as evidenced by
a stylised grille set into a long bonnet and vertical headlights that underscore
the wraparound wings. The surfaces extend stylishly over the car, slipping
seamlessly from body to bumper. The HPE-shaped roof is apparently supported
by a line of tension that passes through the rear pillars and counterbalances
the forward slant of the other lines. The car's downward tapering surfaces
and upright headlights seated on sturdy shoulders are reminiscent of cars
such as the Aprilia and Ardea. These hugely appealing retro hints and motifs,
survivors from a golden age of world motoring, have now been appropriated
by Lancia's designers and made part of their new stylistic language.
The Lancia Granturismo is a tangible expression of tradition and innovation, sportiness and style, emotion and practicality. The fact that this mixture of apparently contradictory features can be brought together to form one harmonious whole in this concept car is a tribute to the bedrock of form and essence now written permanently into Lancia's DNA. This complex task is made easier by a crack team of designers (Lancia Style Centre) and engineers (Studio Carcerano and Carrozzeria Maggiora) with superb knowledge of design, virtual modelling and prototype production. The Lancia Granturismo also offers a smooth and supple drive due to a self-adaptive interface, sky-hook suspension and dual frame floorpan: technological features designed to interpret and reflect the driver's own style. |
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