2005 Geneva Motor Show Index by TCC
Team (2/28/2005)
Laraki Borac

2005 Laraki Borac
For several years Moroccan coachbuilder Laraki has come to
Geneva
with a spectacular
sports car. But we have not driven one yet, and the fear is that the company
will not outgrow the prototype stage. This year Laraki is in
Switzerland
with
the Borac. It’s the second time a car with this name pops up, as the company
also unveiled a Borac in 2003. Then it was equipped with a 5.5-liter Mercedes
AMG V-8. Last year we saw the Fulgura with a 5.4-liter Mercedes V-8 with 570 hp
or with a 6.2-liter V-12 with 660 hp. Now Laraki has equipped the Fulgura with a
6.0-liter Mercedes V-12 with 540 hp. The car weighs 3306 lbs and sprints in 4.4
seconds from 0-60 mph and on to 192 mph. Of course, the rubber has to be fat and
Laraki has put the Borac on 265/35 20-inch front tires and 290/35 20-inchers in
the rear. The Moroccans hope to have the car ready to drive by mid-2006 and then
to build it in a limited edition.
ItalDesign
Nessie
Giugiaro
this year is showing a less than subtle design study. The really big Nessie has
been developed at the request of Mitsubishi and has been styled after the
“monster” that has lured people for many decades to the Scottish Loch Ness.
The
SUV is huge though not quite the size of the mythical Nessie. Opponents of big
gas-guzzling SUVs can be silent, though, as Nessie’s 2.5-liter V-8 runs on
hydrogen. The engine works together with an automatic transmission. Most deisgn
studies are never seen on the road, but this Nessie could really give a hint to
the styling of a new Mitsubishi SUV.
Bertone Villa

2005 Bertone Villa
The
Cadillac SRX inspired Italian design house Bertone to build the Villa, a study
of a future SUV with a lot of interior space and easy entry and exit. Bertone
even used the Cadillac logo on the Villa. Inside, passengers not only have a
roomy interior, but can also enter the Villa through majestic door openings, as
Bertone uses doors that flip up to the front and the rear. For the interior,
Bose developed a 23-inch monitor centrally located in the front for use in
navigation and in screening videos. Passengers also can use a laptop to
communicate with the world around them from inside the car. No further details
were released on mechanicals, but large 22-inch wheels up front and enormous
24-inch ones in the rear were fitted to the concept
.
Fenomenon
Mythos

Fenomenon Mythos
The small London-based design house Fenomenon showed a
modern interpretation of the legendary Lancia Stratos, the Mythos. For the
design of the small two-seater
Fenomenon’s Chris Hrabalek, a student of the Royal College of Art,
was inspired by the success of the Lancia Stratos during the Seventies
when the Stratos won three world rally championships. The Mythos is based on
the Stratos and is at 2094 lb very light. Fenomenon uses carbon fiber and
aluminium for the chassis. The wheel base is 208 inches, while its length is
155 inches. The car is equipped with a Ferrari V-8 with 425 hp
and a sequential six-speed gearbox. It has rear-wheel drive, a limited-slip differential, traction control, ABS,
brake force distribution and brake assist. Note the gullwing doors of the car that
open to the front. Fenomenon hopes to build the Mythos
from 2007 in small numbers.
Stola
S86 Diamante

Stola S86 Diamante
There
are always a lot of design studios in
Geneva
. This year Stola returned to the show
with the S86 Diamante, a study that has been built in just five weeks.
Stola has
penned some nice designs for among others Lamborghini’s Countach, Miura and
Diablo. The new
car is a two-seater coupe with a length of 169 inches, a width of 76 inches and
a height of 48 inches. What is under the skin of the S86 Diamante is unknown,
but given the development time it is likely it rides on some existing chassis
and engine combination.
Lancia Ypsilon Sport by Zagato

2005 Lancia Ypsilon Zagato
Last year Zagato celebrated its 85th anniversary in the
Villa dÉste with quite a few of its beautiful designs. Cars such as the Alfa
Romeo 1750 6C Grand Sport, the Maserati 450 S “Monster” Zagato the Alfa Romeo
TZ2, the Fiat Abarth 1000 Zagato and the Aston Martin DB7 Zagato and the
American Roadster were all there. Ugo
Zagato was born in 1890 and began his coachbuilding career in 1919 in
Milan.
Many beautiful designs left his premises and were built by the Italian car
manufacturers. The relationship with Lancia dates from 1937, when Zagato created
two models that participated in the Mille Miglia, one of them, the Panciona (or
Tubby) winning its class.
In
Geneva, Zagato showed a special version of the
small Lancia Ypsilon that was created together with Lancia. The Ypsilon Sport is
still a concept car, but it is most likely that Lancia will take it into
production. The Ypsilon
Sport has a 150-hp strong direct-injection diesel engine with a lot of torque,
152 lb-ft to be precise. The engine is teamed to a six-speed gearbox and the
suspension has been lowered six inches. The brakes are larger to match the extra
power of the small car.
The
concept car has been tested on the race tracks and it proved to be able to
accelerate from 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds and reaches a top speed of 132 mph.
Zagato made the body changes for an aggressive look. The Ypsilon Sport has air
dams underneath the grill in a typical Zagato shape, to provide more cool air
for the engine. At the rear the shape is repeated in the exhaust pipes. Wide
fenders and side skirts complete the look of the sporty Lancia. The glass roof
runs visually into the windscreen and rear window and is an important styling
detail.
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