Lone Stars: the Nineties
15 July 2023 2 min read 5 images
Automotive design milestones are often one-offs. Lorenzo Ramaciotti guides us through a remarkable story.
Throughout the history of the automobile, there have been numerous lone stars which, when you take a look at them today, continue to shine with their own light. None of them were created to become production cars, but rather to send out a message that was uninhibited by industrial and marketing constraints, signed by designers and the manufacturers themselves. Here comes the next part of our series on Lone Stars, based on intensive conversations with renowned Italian designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti: the 1990ies.
It’s hard to define a theme for the 1990s because the theme of that period was the total lack of a consolidated mainstream capable of imposing itself. The results of the Japanese offensive for total quality are now clearly evident. Everyone had the right to have a quality car, no matter what style they chose. In the absence of a single train of thought in the designers’ proposals, various interpretations coexisted, each very personal and all perfectly contemporary to this day. Among these, together with the Audi Avus Quattro from 1991, is the Argento Vivo, a 1995 concept built on Honda mechanics that Lorenzo Ramaciotti considers one of his most beautiful creations for Pininfarina.
1991
The Honda Argento Vivo: By combining the colour blue with certain body panels in a shade of silver not too distant from mercury, the spider made for Honda took the concept of biodesign several steps forward. Indeed, the car changes continuously when it is in motion, mirroring its surroundings.
1995
The BMW Nazca M12, C2 and C3: Between 1991 and 1993, Italdesign developed a supercar concept for BMW with the goal of maximum lightness and dynamic efficiency. Fabrizio Giugiaro, the son of Giorgetto, played a leading role in the project which, thanks to the use of carbon fibre for the body and the space frame in the C2 version, approached its target weight of 1,000 kg.
1995
The Ford GT90: Ford’s ambition to repeat the success of the GT40 materialised in 1995 at the Detroit Motor Show. The goal was to beat its famous European competitors. Of particular note is the pursuit of an original style that made taut lines and triangular stylistic features the car’s dominant characteristic. Designed with absolute performance in mind, it never went into production due to costs that the management considered incompatible with the market.
1997
The Volkswagen W12 Syncro and Nardò: In the years when the Volkswagen Group was busy acquiring brands such as Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley, Ferdinand Piëch entrusted Volkswagen with the task of sending out a message of technical excellence – hence the choice of the V-twin engine and the record-breaking performance goals. Introduced in 1997 as the Syncro, the car, designed with simplicity and rigour by Italdesign, was developed to set the world 24-hour speed record on the Nardò track, which it did on its first attempt, covering 7,084 km at an average speed of 295.3 km/h.
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