What’s the point of show cars – PART 2 So, sometimes ‘Showcars’ or ‘Concept cars’ are simply to prepare journalists for future production intentions; to get a story started that can then be added to, prior to the cars introduction. Sometimes they are there to guide public taste, or let people know that the company is still in business, or to sell maybe just one or two special editions. These are all clear commercial objectives to sell cars. But occasionally a company unveils a concept as a celebration, either of their history or culture. In 1996 Renault presented the ‘Fiftie’, a charming little evocation of the rear-engined 4CV or ‘750’ Renault that first appeared in 1946. The good thing with the ‘Fiftie’ was that, whilst it was clearly retro in its form, all the details were absolutely contemporary. With no intention of putting the car into production there was none of the marketing cynicism that often accompanies other retro evocations. The early 1980s was a time of prolific introduction of show cars by all of the Italian design houses. This was a time when no one seemed to question the recycling of spare design proposals made for one company that were then presented to another manufacturer. I remember my surprise on opening a drawer at Lotus and finding a large set of Ital Design proposals for the Lotus ‘Etna’, designs that would be familiar to BMW M1 or Ford ‘Maya’ enthusiasts. Those who are used to hearing by views on poor modelling or bad surface development will be able to guess what I think of the lines on the much later BMW M1 Ommage! The Etna, first shown in 1984, presented an interesting problem for me. I was asked by Lotus management to use as many design cues as possible from the Etna for the design of a proposed new Toyota engine front wheel drive sports coupe code named X100. I worked on the design in the Turin based company Cecomp. They were a very well respected show car and prototype build shop who were responsible for almost all of Ghandini, Ital, and the Fiat Group’s show vehicles. It was Cecomp who had built the ‘Etna’ show car. Trying to impose a style from a vehicle of totally different architecture, a large mid-engined V8 powered two seat, high performance sports car on to a little FWD low-cost coupe was never going to work. Fortunately for me when GM bought Lotus, Toyota disappeared as a supplier and partner and I was able to start again with a new design using a very compact Isuzu engine and gearbox. A 1988 concept car that came from Porsche’s Wiessach design studios was was never intended for public display, the four-door car was based on the 911 platform and was an examination of the possibility for a four seat family oriented Porsche model. At the time designer friends at Porsche said it was because senior management at the company were getting older and had teenaged kids who refused to sit curled up in the back of a 911! It is interesting to compare the roof line with that of the fat Panamera that appeared 20 years later. In recent years Italian design house Bertone had struggled more than most others to survive (now of course it has sadly gone completely), the company would arrive at the annual Geneva Auto Salon with a new concept vehicle and people would wonder if this was Bertone’s last appearance. 2011 was no different, the company presented a Jaguar based car the ‘B99 Bertone Jaguar’. Journalists naturally asked Jaguar if this was a preview of a new large Jaguar saloon, could this also be the car to save the life of Bertone? Surprised senior Jaguar executives had to say that this was unlikely since they had first seen the car just the day before the show! It is interesting to study the ‘first theme sketch’, ‘development drawing’, final illustration’ and actual car, and wonder in what order these were done. But the previous year there had been a Jaguar concept car that could well have been an indication of the future; the X75 Hybrid. This very fine looking car was described as having two gas turbine engines driving electric generators that would produce remarkable power, range and minimal emissions. Up until the technical marketing spin I was convinced that this was to be the forerunner of a new supercar from Jaguar. Yes, well maybe the front end was not the strongest part of the design but the cars stance on the road, the roof form and the rear fender line were great. Andy Bevan’s sketches are still very restrained and expressive examples of how much can be conveyed with a simple line drawing. Now if only Jaguar had resisted the untried and, at the time, non-existent engineering fantasy and had instead gone with an ultra-modern, conventionally fuelled powertrain we might has been able to see this car on the road right now. Jaguar enlisted the engineering help of the Williams F1 Group to develop the ultra-complex but necessary technologies required to meet the claims that Jaguar made for the car. There is nothing more expensive than chasing an unachievable target with unproven technology; Jaguar stopped the project after a very few (more conventional) prototypes were built and run. That there are yet more reasons for the building of concept cars will be discussed in a future ‘Part 3’.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 18:30:00 +0000
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