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ItalDesign unveils prototypes for the Geneva Motor Show


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Respected Italian carrozzeria, ItalDesign will unveil two new striking concept cars at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Italdesign Volta 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-liters gasoline tank.

Italdesign Visconti 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.

2004-02-23 Please quote Autoindex.org if You use this news article!