Porsche (Volkswagen) Tapiro (Italdesign) (1970)

The fantasy automobile for the Turin Motor Show in 1970 is purposely extreme in terms of designs and technical solutions, but it is nevertheless intended for mass manufacturing.

The Volkswagen Porsche 914/16 is the starting point, however, there is no resemblance between this prototype and the commercial version. The formal trend is more about de Tomaso Mangusta than the Iguana, which was introduced a year ago.

Sharp lines, straight radii, and emphasized corners replace softness and litheness.

The wedge is employed for the first time in this automobile, and it will be used in many other cars in the future. Doors and hoods are quite unique and regarded as extravagant solutions for the time, such as a gull-wing door for passengers and engine. This method required the design of a “cross” steel core structure that holds longitudinally the hinges of doors and hoods while transversally becoming a roll-bar. A square overhang shields the foldaway lights.

Volkswagen Porsche Tapiro was owned by a private collector, but met a tragic end: in the 1980s, this one-of-a-kind prototype was discovered entirely burned after an automobile accident.

Source: Italdesign