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In 1960 the wildest Flaminia prototype was first shown: the Loraymo coupe from the studios of Raymond Loewy and realized in aluminum by carrozzeria Motto in Italy. Loewy was a French-born artist who had established one of the leading industrial design studios in the USA. This studio designed all sorts of things: logos, packaging, office equipment, and cars. These designs were usually attributed to Loewy, while often he was just the promotor and had an elaborate staff of gifted designers to back him up. During the 1940s and 1950s, Loewy Studios had put their mark on Studebaker design, which was very advanced and influential at the time. In the mid-1950s, Loewy turned away from Studebaker and created several show cars with sport coupe styling. The Loraymo was one of those; it followed a 1957 BMW 507 coupe prototype with excessive "coke-bottle" curves at the sides and preceded the famous 1963 Studebaker Avanti. Styling-wise, the Loraymo was the intermediate model between Loewy's exuberant BMW 507 special and the elegant and balanced Studebaker Avanti; aspects of both can be found in it without it being much alike. Loewy chose the Flaminia 2.5 liter V6 (tuned by Nardi to produce 140 hp) platform for this special is unclear; perhaps he wanted some Italian flair to rub off on the design. Coke-bottle style sweeping curves had become a characteristic styling feature in Loewy designs, which is not that strange because the Loewy studios had designed the classic shape of the (small) Coca-Cola bottle. It became trendy and common in American car design in the mid-1960s, but it was still quite unusual when the Loraymo was presented at the Paris Motor Show. Another critical innovation shown on the Loraymo was the roof spoiler above the rear window. This must have been a first at the time, and it was decades ahead of its time. Additional distinctive features were the jet-like nose flanked by cutaway and recessed fenders and the small air intake placed to one side of the hood. This last detail returned to many other car designs. Later, it came into the possession of Lancia's factory museum, proving its importance, however odd it might look. Loewy has used the Loraymo as his car quite as Pinin Farina did with the Florida II before. Source: www.ritzsite.nl Images: carcatalog1.free.fr

Often referred to as the “Moon Transporter,” this El Camino–faced custom hauler started as the “Cheetah Transporter” and was initially built by Norman Holtkamp. The latter was inspired by the Uhlenhaut Mercedes transporter used by the Benz racing team in the early ’50s. Dean Moon bought the Cheetah from Holtkamp, which still exists today, in the care of automotive historian Geoff Hacker. Source: www.hotrod.com Images: www.kustomrama.com; www.onlineadjunct.com

This California Show Car features twin French Bathtubs with lots of plumbing and a twin-blown Chrysler engine. When the creativity goes to extreme? Well, there aren’t many specimens, but here is one that will surely force you to say – this is it. What should I call this creation, I know knot, but this image clearly shows that it’s a toilet and bathroom combined on the wheels. Incorporating two full bathing tubs at the rear and the driver’s seat with a toilet bowl underneath, this hot rod has a big V8 engine to propel this stylishly finished car in gold and velvet accents. If you are too lazy to get up early in the morning, you could refresh yourself on the go to reach your office on time. Source: www.automotto.com

Andy Di Dia was a clothing designer from Detroit who spent seven years (from 1953 to 1960) and over $150,000 building a car that puts the Lincoln Futura concept car that evolved into the Batmobile to shame. Di Dia’s friend, singer Bobby Darin, bought the car from him in 1961 and drove it to the Academy Awards and movies until donating it to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, MO, in 1970. The car’s metallic red exterior is from 30 coats of paint with real ground diamonds for sparkle. The body was made from hand-fashioned soft aluminum. There are hidden headlights and tail lights that swivel as the car turns. Inside, each seat has an ashtray, cigarette lighter, and radio speaker. On the dash are oversized levers that control the air conditioning, heater, and defroster. The car has a 125-inch wheelbase and is powered by a V8 engine. The car was initially powered by a 365 cubic inch Cadillac engine, later replaced by a 427 cubic inch high-performance Ford engine,[3] and had a 125-inch wheelbase with a tubular aluminum frame and a hand-fashioned soft aluminum body.[4] The car has a Batmanesque set of rear fins[2] dominating the bodyline and ruby red hubcaps on whitewall tires. Writer Daniel Vaughan describes it as ...an exotic vehicle that is overdone in every detail and in every respect, an iconic dream car. Its metallic red paint was from 30 coats of paint with real ground diamonds for sparkle.[5][6] ...The body is from hand-fashioned soft aluminum. There are hidden headlights and tail lights that swivel as the car turns. Inside, the seats each have their own ash tray, cigarette lighter, and radio speaker. On the dash are oversized levers that control the air conditioning, heater and defroster. Source: belatednerd.com Images: Alden Jewell Collection; Rik Hoving - Custom Car Photo Archive; Westly Shealy Photostream

Mark McLaren appeared in the 60s of the last century. Its history was discovered by the New Zealand racer Bruce McLaren, who in 1959 became the youngest driver to win the Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Championship. In 1966, Bruce McLaren started in the World Championship on a car of his design, and two years later brought the first victory for McLaren. An unquenched thirst for success and creativity leads him to create his own company. The first car to bear his name was the McLaren M1, based on the Cooper Monaco. In parallel to racing Formula 1, Bruce participated in many other competitions, but he achieved tremendous success in the Can-Am championship (Can-Am), also in his team car. In the late 60s, Bruce McLaren created a road version of the car based on his sports prototypes, which would have to match the then-level supercars performed by well-known companies and surpass them. He is developing the M6GT model, equipped with an American V8 with a volume of 7000 cc. and a capacity of about 625 horsepower... it would seem that everything is just beginning... But in 1970, the company suffered a misfortune... Bruce McLaren died while testing a new sports prototype... the M6GT project was frozen. Source & Images: CarStyling

The smallest car Peel P50 was produced in England in 1962 . The P50 was designed to be "one person and one bag." Work on the car began in 1961, and a year later, visitors to the London Motor Show crowded in surprise around the tiny one-eyed freak. Its length was 134 centimeters, width - was 99 cm. Interestingly, there was no reverse gear in the gearbox of this machine. But that didn't present a problem. A car weighing 59 kilograms (the body was made of fiberglass) could easily be deployed on the spot by simply lifting it from one side by the bumper. However, the Peel was reluctant to develop the declared speed of 64 km / h, tilted, crackled, and hissed while cornering, and the dimensions made the driver hardly handle the large steering wheel and knock his head on the ceiling. Legendary Peel P50, the World's Smallest Production Car! At a mere 54 inches long and just 41 inches wide, it has held the Guinness Book of World Records' title for over 50 years! With only one headlight and door powered by a diminutive powerplant, its design stands as a symbol of automotive minimalism! It was initially manufactured in the 1960s on the Isle of Man. The Peel P50 was the Brainchild of serial inventor and Peel Engineering Company's owner Cyril Cannell. He envisioned an ultra-compact, tiny commuter car traveling at 40 mph while comfortably seating one adult carrying a briefcase. Production ceased in 1964, with only fifty Peel P50s ever being produced. Of these originals, only twenty-seven are still in existence, making the Peel P50 one of the rarest automobiles in the World! The Peel P50 is now being produced in limited numbers by Peel Engineering Ltd. in the United Kingdom! Source: www.peelengineering.co.uk Images: Peel Engineering

A prototype amphibious all-terrain vehicle that used friction drive and continuously variable transmission was pitched at the US Army. They weren’t interested. In 1965 after the prototype was tested in America - and now, as befits a concept car, it stands in a museum. Source: trucks.autoreview.ru Images: Archives of the DAF Museum

Auger DAF Amfirol, built in 1966, could swim and drive up to 35 km/h on land. At the same time, the auger was equipped with ... a V-belt variator!. The DAF Amphirol was not built by DAF. It was created by a private individual (Jo de Bakker) as a hobby. This vehicle has 2 DAF 750 cc engines with two variomatic gearboxes. This means there is one engine and one gearbox for each roll. The vehicle screws itself forward or reverses by rotating the rolls in the opposite direction. The absolute joke of this vehicle is that a variomatic gearbox gives the same speed ahead and reverse. So if you rotate both rolls in the same direction, this vehicle moves at a frightening pace sideways. By changing the parallel angle of the rolls, steering sideways works fine—tAt the same time, the sides were closed. The 2 DAF engines were later replaced with 2 NSU rotary engines. Source: trucks.autoreview.ru; www.amphibiousvehicle.net Images: Archives of The DAF Museum

1966 Batmobile / As depicted in the TV series Batman (1966-1968) and Batman: The Movie (1966). The Batmobile is one vehicle that has become as well known as its co-stars. Evolving from the comic through the various films and, as pictured here, the 1960s TV series. Designed by George Barris. In 1955, a futuristic-style concept car, the Lincoln Futura, was presented to the public, handcrafted by the Italian coachbuilder Ghia in Turin. Like most concept cars, the fate of the Lincoln Futura is unenviable - it remained in a single version. Decades later, George Barris bought the concept car from Ford for a rumored one dollar, after which the Futura was listed in Barris's private collection for several years, until one day he was approached by the producers of the American television channel ABC. They wanted Barris to design a vehicle for the protagonist of the new Man-Bat television series, Batman. At the same time, the deadlines for completing the order were very limited - three weeks were given for everything about everything. George remembered the Futura, the menacing front of the car, and the similar rear view - it was exactly what he needed. This concept car became the basis for the legendary Batman car - the Batmobile. The project was completed on schedule. The body was covered with as many as 40 coats of black paint with combined cherry red stripes. The car looked not only futuristic and solemn but also resembled a spaceship. The front of the hood was made in the form of a bat's head. The designers outfitted the concept with the Batscope Surveillance System, the Bateye Anti-Theft Control System, the Batcave Location Device, and the Batray Laser. The body and windows of the car were made of bulletproof materials. Driving such a car, Batman was simply invulnerable. In addition to the Batmobile, the Barris brothers' company, Barris Kustom Industries, worked on dozens of movie cars. Barris' custom cars created a unique atmosphere on the screen, thanks to which comic and fictional characters became almost tangible. These creations included DRAG-U-LA mobile coffin for the Monsters series, the Flintstones car, and the Ford Torino for Starsky and Hooch. Source: www.maxi-tuning.ru

Rolls Royce Phantom V, received by John Lennon on June 3, 1965, was initially painted in traditional black. After a radiotelephone, TV and refrigerator were installed at the owner's request, and the back seat was converted into a double bed, John decided to pay some attention to the appearance of his beloved car. The standard color of the car never suited him; it seemed boring to him. So in April 1967, he approached JP Fallon Limited to have his Rolls-Royce repainted in something "psychedelic." The work, which gypsy artists designed, literally delighted John, which could not be said about the British public. The audience was shocked by the trick of the gouging superstar who dared to encroach on the sacred. There is a known case when an elderly lady, seeing this car on the street, attacked it with an umbrella, shouting: "Pig! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce!" The Beatles used the car as a traveling car for several years, and after the breakup of the group, Lennon moved the car to America, where rock stars such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan rented it. At the end of 1977, John had severe financial problems, and he was forced to sell this Rolls-Royce to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York for 225 thousand dollars. Subsequently, after the death of Lennon, this car was put up for auction, the final bidding for which was almost $ 2,300,000! Since then, this Rolls-Royce has been considered the most expensive car in history. The buyer is Jim Pattison, owner of Ripley International Inc. in Southern California, which exhibited John's Rolls-Royce in his "Believe It Or Not" museum. In the car's interior, you can see a wax figure of John, made by Joan Sullivan. Source: diecast-43.livejournal.com; tltonline.ru; cars.uk.msn.com Images: cars.uk.msn.com; www.claspgarage.com Harrison's

The Cony Guppy is a small pickup truck manufactured by Aichi. The vehicle had suicide doors and rotating amber beacons on the B-pillar. The brake lights were tiny and circular. The engine, which rests behind the seats, is a two-valve, 199 cc single-cylinder unit that produces 11 horsepower (8.2 kW). It can power the vehicle to a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Aichi rated the Guppy's fuel economy at 50 km/L. They also claimed the Guppy could carry 100 kilograms (220 lb) of cargo. Its low price of ¥225,000 made it attractive to small business owners and cargo transporters. Other features include a four-wheel independent suspension and a torque converter for clutchless driving. Nissan donated 100 cars based on the Guppy to the Kodomo no Kuni Children's Park in Hazu, Aichi, in 1965. This was long after the Guppy had been taken out of production; Nissan built them from leftover parts due to their gradual takeover of the Aichi company. Called the "Datsun Baby," they had a speed limiter, limiting top speed to 30 km/h (18.6 mph). Otherwise, they were mechanically identical to the Guppy but with different bodywork. Source: Wikipedia Images: aldenjewell's photostream; www.earlydatsun.com; www.toyota.co.jp

In England, between 1957 and 1965, two series of three-wheeled Scootacars were produced - MkI and MkII. The first version was so "stretched" vertically that it seemed that it would not ride but jump along the road. Due to the height of one and a half meters and the fact that it was often painted red, the people nicknamed the machine "telephone booth." Officially, it was called Scootacar, which indicated a hybrid of a scooter (scooter) and a car (car). A motorcycle-type steering wheel aggravated this connection. In 1959, the British released a wholly redesigned second version of the machine, and two years later, they attached a more powerful motor to it. However, the effect modification was not in demand: for some reason, few fans were riding in a telephone booth at a speed of 100 km/h. Harry Brown had designed a small car in the mid-fifties called the Rodley 750, a dismal failure due to its JAP engine overheating and catching fire. Undaunted, Harry returned a year later with a vengeance and designed one of the most iconic, successful, and best-loved British microcars. It had acquired the reputation of being one of the worst cars of its day. The Hunslet Engine Company, an old-established manufacturer of railway locomotives in the Leeds suburb of Hunslet, decided to build a small car. This decision had come about when the wife of one of the directors wanted a vehicle that was easier to park than her Jaguar. Harry Brown of Leeds was called in because of his experience in the field, and Scootacars Ltd. was formed as a subsidiary of Hunslet. The Scootacar, later called the Mark I, was a scooter with an enclosed body shell. One sat very upright, holding a pair of handlebars, astride a box containing the motor, which was topped with a typical longitudinal saddle fitted with a small backrest. It was said that the tall angelfish-like shape was derived from a full-size sketch of the designer seated directly above the motor. A small folding bench seat in the back allowed two people to ride in tandem, in scooter-fashion. This mid-engine arrangement eliminated the need for a separate engine compartment behind the cabin, which created the foreshortened "telephone booth" appearance. One large door on the left- or near-side allowed comfortable stand-up access. Lifting the seat box, access to the motor, and drive chain to the rear wheel. Despite its narrow upper half, it was pretty broad at its sheet steel floor pan. This gave it a surprisingly low center of gravity, and as a result, the little car handled exceptionally well. There was a great deal of room inside for stowing gear, like around the large floor, under the seat, on the folding chair back, and in the door pocket. The lightweight fiberglass body was bonded to the steel floor pan. The large, curved front window was glass, while the tall sliding and rear windows were in Plexiglas to save weight. In addition, the Scootacar boasted the largest parcel shelf in the industry, and, quite notably, it seems to be the only car to have a picture of itself as a front badge! Source: www.membrana.ru; autodaily.net.ru; www.rmauctions.com

Experienced car class GT (Gran Turismo), with a body like a two-door hardtop convertible - a dream car, released in just two copies. In 1964, on a trial basis, based on the pre-production Moskvich-408, two samples of the Moskvich-408 Tourist were created. This elegant car was an attempt to create a modification with an open two-door body of the so-called 2 + 2 types. The model was based on the chassis and body parts of the Moskvich-408 serial sedan. One of the two prototypes had a body with aluminum exterior panels, the other with steel. The doors of the prototype were devoid of glass frames. Also, the car was equipped with a removable hard top. The absence of a roof adversely affected the rigidity of the body, so the bottom was reinforced with an X-shaped cross member. On one prototype, there were two Weber carburetors; they also planned to install (according to some sources) an electronically controlled fuel injection system TsNITA (Central Scientific Institute of Fuel Equipment). It was assumed that "Tourist" could be produced in small batches for export, but it never went into production. Not a single copy has survived.

Somewhere in the second part of 1959, project XP-720 began at GM Styling to design a production Corvette based on Bill Mitchell’s Sting Ray racer. It would become known as the C2 or second-generation Corvette. In October of that same year, a clay mock-up of project XP-720 was completed and displayed for General Motors’ management viewing. This early effort was essentially the Stingray Racer with a coupe top. Source: Mario van Ginneken - www.corvettes.nl Images: www.corvettes.nl

1962 Chevrolet Corvair Super Spyder (XP-785): two-seat experimental sports roadster. Unwrapped in 1962, the Super Spyder concept car was a more radical version of 1961’s Corvair-based Sebring Spyder concept car. This experimental two-seater, shorter than a standard Corvair in both wheelbase and overall length, is powered by a turbocharged flat-six, air-cooled engine. The Super Spyder received Automobile Quarterly’s 1962 “Award for Design Excellence” recognition for its sporty styling motif and appealing lines. The XP-785 was based on a 1962 convertible body shell. Its overall length of 171 inches and its 93-inch wheelbase are both shorter than the stock 180 and 108-inch dimensions. The differences stem from the increased front and rear body overhang and removing a 15-inch section of the body between the doors and rear wheel arches. Many styling elements set the Super Spyder apart: a racing-style windscreen, low-drag sport mirrors, and the aerodynamic driver’s headrest built into the extended fiberglass rear deck cover. Then there are the exotic exhaust pipes, Stingray taillights, split bumpers, triple louvers in the quarter panels ahead of the rear wheels, alloy wheels with knock-off centers, Spyder instrumentation, wood-rimmed steering wheel, and the bold racing stripe! I’m drooling again. Source: www.corvaircorsa.com Images: Detroit Free Press, www.corvaircorsa.com

The Chevy Monza SS (XP-797) topless two-seat prototype was based on the Corvair rear-engine platform with a shortened 88-inch wheelbase. Styling reflected Corvette's influence and predicted the rear design of the 1965 Corvair. This is the open roadster version of the experimental Monza. It was dubbed the Monza SS and appeared along with its GT sibling in 1962, over 40 years ago! The lines of these cars were so aerodynamic that even today, they would rival many modern cars in wind tunnel tests. I've often wondered how these cars would have sold had they been pressed into production. No doubt, they would have put a dent in Corvette sales, and although this is pure speculation on my part, I suspect that to be one of the reasons they weren't mass-produced. Designer Bill Mitchell once described the design characteristics of the SS and its companion GT as being unusual in its day but with classic and timeless lines. Source: www.chicagoautoshow.com; www.corvaircorsa.com Images: GM; www.corvaircorsa.com; deansgarage.com

The Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT (XP-777) was a mid-engined experimental prototype automobile built in 1962 based on the early model Chevrolet Corvair series. As it was essentially a concept car, the Monza GT did not enter production. In response to consumer advocate Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed, Chevrolet began developing a front-engine, front-wheel drive version of the Corvair; GM design chief Bill Mitchell repurposed the project by moving the transaxle to the rear, resulting in a mid-engine Corvair derivative. Under Mitchell's direction, the Corvair Monza GT coupe was designed by Larry Shinoda and Tony Lapine in 1962, borrowing from the Bertone-designed Testudo concept car. Like the earlier design, the GT doors swung upward and were a front-hinged canopy that extended into the B section; the rear engine cover was also hinged at the rear. The engine was a standard 145 cu (2,380 cc), 102 hp (76 kW) Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine with two carburetors. Unlike the production rear-engined Corvair, the GT engine was mounted ahead of the transaxle, resulting in a mid-engine layout. The chassis, designed by a team led by Frank Winchell, featured a 92 in (2,337 mm) wheelbase, 16 in (406 mm) shorter than the production Corvair. The overall dimensions were similarly reduced, with a length of 162 in (4,114.8 mm) and a height of 42 in (1,067 mm). Besides its streamlined appearance, the Monza GT had innovative features, including magnesium alloy wheels, 4-wheel disc brakes, and 4-wand fixed seats with adjustable pedals. These features would eventually turn up in production cars years later. Introduced to the public in June 1962 at Elkhart Lake at a Sports Car Club of America race for A- and B-production classes, the Corvair Monza GT was an instant hit with enthusiasts. Reporters called the car "gorgeous." The Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT coupe toured together in early 1963 with the related Monza SS (Super Spyder, XP-797), styled as a roofless version of the GT, making a further public appearance at the New York International Auto Show. Although both cars were fundamentally based on existing Corvair drivetrain components and resembled each other externally, each represented a separate development of the Corvair design. In the Monza SS, the six-cylinder/six-carburetor engine was left in its stock location behind the transaxle, allowing a shorter 88 in-long (2,235 mm) wheelbase. Like the XP-777/Monza GT, the XP-797/Monza SS chassis was developed by Winchell's team, and the body was styled by Mitchell's Studio X team (Shinoda and Lapine). The Monza GT and SS ended up as concepts only, tied partly to the fortunes of the Corvair, which fell after the vehicle had been declared unsafe by pioneering consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Mitchell remarked in 1985 that he "wanted something more exotic, so I built the one where the hatch came up (the Monza GT), and it's still a beautiful car, but it was heavy. Then I built the open job (the Monza SS). GM couldn't see putting that out, but it went to shows everywhere." Chevrolet began developing the Monza GT/SS into a production car under XP-782 with a targeted the release year of 1966, but the production version never came to fruition. Today, the Corvair Monza GT concept car is one of more than 700 vehicles found in the GM Heritage Collection of historically significant vehicles. The cars used for the World of Tomorrow car ride attraction at Disneyland were based on the styling of the Corvair Monza GT. The 1963 Corvette GS-II was derived from the mid-engine chassis of the Monza GT, again by Winchell's team. The GS referred to the Zora Arkus-Duntov-led Corvette Grand Sport program of 1962; two examples were built: GS-IIa, which was powered by a 327-cu.in. V8 and GS-IIb used a lightweight chassis and reportedly achieved 198 mph (319 km/h) at Jim Hall's Rattlesnake Raceway test track. The GS-II was styled again by Larry Shinoda. Hall's Chaparral 2C race car was, in turn, derived from the GS-IIb, which remained in Midland, Texas, mostly forgotten until it was subsequently put on display starting in 2018 at the Chaparral wing of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. According to Pontiac Motor Division engineer Bill Collins, the division borrowed heavily from the Corvair Monza GT design when it developed both the coupe and convertible versions of its 1964 Banshee prototype cars. Some of the styling features of the GT, notably the rear end, were the inspiration for the 1965–1969 Corvair. The design would also influence the 1965 Chevrolet Mako Shark II concept car and the 1968–1982 Corvette (C3) that resembled it three years later. Source: Wikipedia Images: General Motors Archive; Andre LE ROUX Site; www.corvaircorsa.com; www.shorey.net; deansgarage.com

Sibona-Basano made several prototypes from designs by Pio Manzù, like Autonova GT or Autonova Fam from 1965. With assistance from NSU, Glas, Recaro, VDO, and Boge, this early minivan featured a variable interior configuration and a horizontally split rear hatch. Instead of a steering wheel, it used a yoke with integral switches. Unusual features included an electronically controlled manual transmission, load-leveling suspension struts, and progressive steering, which reduced the steering wheel travel to 280 degrees lock-to-lock. The four-cylinder engine by Glas is 1281 cc, 60 hp (44 kW). It still employed rear-wheel drive. It was presented at the 1965 Frankfurt Show (IAA) in NSU stand along with the Autonova GT. Source: www.osi20mts.com Images: www.piomanzu.it; www.manzonidesign.com

These two prototypes, Autonova GT (1964) and Autonova Fam (1965) represented two different types of automobiles, but they revealed a unified conception of the car as a product, including its forms. Both were relevant to contemporary needs: “cars for the present, not the past, designed for society and traffic today,” wrote Manzù and Conrad in the detailed manuals presenting them to the press. Together they interpreted the needs of users who wanted practical, functional cars capable of coping with the changed urban and extra-urban traffic conditions. At the same time, they appealed to people who appreciated a class of automobiles like the small sports car, generally regarded as elitist and unaffordable. Autonova was the name chosen by Pio Manzù, Fritz B. Busch, and Michael Conrad for their new design team. They had a detailed plan to supply the automobile industry with a complete design service, covering the research and development of new products from the initial scope of the projects down to the production of working prototypes. Autonova began work in 1964 by collaborating with a group of German manufacturers. They included NSU-Werke, who financed the Autonova GT project, the Veith-Pirelli company, backers of the Autonova Fam project, Glas (for the production of the car’s mechanicals and its assembly), Recaro (for the seats), VDO (for the instruments on board) and BASF (which supplied the plastics). Within a year, the Carrozzeria Sibona & Basano in Turin had built two prototypes with distinctive features reflecting two quite different types of a motor vehicles. The Autonova GT The Autonova GT, exhibited for the first time in public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1964, was a compact Gran Turismo (3750 mm long, 1550 mm wide, and 1200 mm high). It was built on the platform and mechanicals of the standard NSU Prinz 1000 TT, with a rear-mounted 1085 cc engine producing 55 HP. The spare lines of the profile of the body converged at the front in an original appendage to the nose, which served the twofold function of a bumper and a fascia uniting the surfaces of the low, elongated engine hood. However, perhaps the most original feature of the car was the aerodynamic design of the flanks, enhanced by a truncated integral rear end with a window that could be opened (unusual in a fastback body type). Also distinctive was the arrangement of the headlights. Functional constructional criteria and practical considerations dictated their protruding outlines because they helped give the driver a sense of the car’s volume. The interior was notable for the austere design of the bucket seats, the central tunnel housing the gearshift and other principal switches and levers, and the door panels equipped with tubular armrests of an original design. In this car, Pio Manzù and Michael Conrad sought to rethink the stylistic currents of the day, which Manzù regarded as stuck with a sort of “formal catechism” and incapable of moving beyond their established schemes. Of Autonova’s numerous functional and technical-constructional features, the most striking was its rigorous formal synthesis, the simple, “modern” design of its different parts, from the lines that unite or segment the various sections of the body down to individual details like handles and switches and the most minute seams and welds. Both the Autonova prototypes are still surprising for their originality and coherence, even after this time-lapse. Pio Manzù and Michael Conrad’s project can still be seen as an exemplary contribution to the evolution of automobile and car design, not only because of the results they achieved but also in terms of method and the development of radically innovative contents. Source: Enrico Leonardo Fagone - autodesign.socialblog.us Images: www.piomanzu.it; www.manzonidesign.com

While still a student, Pio Manzù had a chance to express his design interests in the International Competition organized by the magazine “Année Automobile” of Lausanne, marking its tenth anniversary in 1963. With two school-mates, Manzù won it with a prototype on Austin Healey 3000 mechanicals, built by the Carrozzeria Pininfarina and exhibited at the Turin and London Motor Shows the same year. In an article published in 1964 (Style Auto” n. 3), commenting on the principles that guided the design of Austin Healey 3000 (winner of the prestigious international competition launched by the editors of L’Année Automobile), Manzù wrote: “We’re at a crossroads. Either we go on with largely stylistic studies and slide into pure fashion (in which the Americans are far ahead of us), or we take a new path, as suggested by traffic conditions and needs in Europe.” This famous warning, a response to the redesign and styling operations which were a rampant feature of international car production in the mid-sixties, especially in America, partly explains his approach to design. He wanted to develop original types of vehicles and, at the same time, endow them with functions and performance that would respond more closely to their real conditions of use. The adoption of new materials in the manufacture of individual components of the body, research into systems for covering the underbody, and large apertures to allow the doors and hood to open wide all testify to his continuous research, combining in equal measure technical features, formal values, and specifications of use. Source: Enrico Leonardo Fagone - autodesign.socialblog.us Images: www.piomanzu.it; www.manzonidesign.com