Italdesign Aztec | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Italdesign Giugiaro Carrozzeria Savio |
Also called | Audi Aztec |
Production | 1988–1992 (18 reportedly produced) [1] |
Assembly | Turin, Italy |
Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign [2] |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Sports car (S) |
Body style | 2-door speedster |
Layout | Longitudinal mid engine, four-wheel drive |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 2.2 L (2,226 cc) Audi MB/1B turbocharged DOHC I5 |
Transmission | 5-speed manual |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 2,601 mm (102 in) [3] |
Length | 4,270 mm (168 in) [3] |
Width | 1,971 mm (78 in) [3] |
Height | 1,175 mm (46 in) [3] |
The Aztec is a sports car introduced by Italdesign at the 1988 Turin Motor Show, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the firm. The two-seater is unique because the driver and passenger are separated, requiring the two parties to communicate electronically. It incorporates a speedster body style with partial visor sections which are removable and open in a gull-wing arrangement. It was fitted with a turbocharged Audi engine mated to a four-wheel-drive system derived from the Lancia Delta HF Integrale. [4] [5]
A Turin-based trading company called Compact srl bought the rights to the Aztec and planned to build 50 examples, to be sold exclusively in Japan. [6] Carrozzeria Savio was contracted to build the cars. According to most sources only 18 cars were ever built, although some sources simply state the production number as "less than 25". [1] [7]
Italdesign's initial plan was for the Aztec to be fitted with Audi's then-new, 3.6-liter V8 engine. As the V8 was not completed in time, an Audi-sourced five-cylinder DOHC engine was used instead. [6] It produces 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp), [8] although the car carried a prominent "250 HP" badge on the flank. Many cars were indeed fitted with boosted engines producing closer to that number. [9]
The car incorporated futuristic styling cues with many features ahead of its time. The car had control panels on both sides of the car at the aluminium body panels at the rear and upon entering certain codes into the panel, information and about the car's performance status along with certain functions of the car (i.e., an extra set of lights, hydraulic jack, removable screw driver, a fire extinguisher, a compressor for inflating tires and a flashlight) could be accessed via a voice message. Inside of the car, the car was wrapped in a leather interior and there was a separate instrument cluster for the passenger shaped like a steering wheel displaying vital information about the car and containing damper controls and communication controls along with engine timing controls. The car also incorporated a satellite navigation system located in the centre of the dashboard (positioned more towards the driver). The design of the car is inspired by the space technology rather than the organic technologies used in that era while the LeMans inspired wing mirrors gave a nod to the aspects of motorsport. The car incorporated an adequate luggage compartment in order to carry the normal luggage of the occupants while being true to its futuristic theme. A carbon fibre rear wing optimised for downforce and roll-bars for safety of the occupants were also installed. [10]
The Italdesign Aztec appeared in the 1990 science fiction horror movie Frankenstein Unbound as the computer-controlled futuristic car of the movie's protagonist, Dr. Joe Buchanan. [11] It made its second film appearance in the 1996 Italian science fiction comedy movie A spasso nel tempo alongside the BMW Nazca C2 and the Italdesign Machimoto concept cars. [12]
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
The Maserati Bora is a two-seat, rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car and grand tourer, manufactured by Maserati from 1971 to 1978. In common with other Maserati cars of the era, it is named after a wind, Bora being the wind of Trieste. The Bora was the company's first mid-engined street car and ended Maserati's reputation for producing fast but technologically out of date cars, also being the first Maserati with four wheel independent suspension. In contrast, competitor Lamborghini had first used full independent suspension in 1964.
The Lamborghini Jalpa is a sports car produced by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini from 1981 until 1988. It debuted at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show alongside the Lamborghini LM001 concept off-road vehicle. The Jalpa was the last Lamborghini to use a V8 engine until the Urus SUV in 2018.
The Bentley Continental GT is a grand touring car manufactured and marketed by the British company Bentley Motors since 2003. A two-door coupé or convertible, it was the first new Bentley released after the company's acquisition by Volkswagen AG in 1998, and the first Bentley to employ mass production manufacturing techniques. It was later joined by the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, a four-door saloon car variant.
The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and now in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with both front- or permanent all-wheel drive—and in short- and long-wheelbase variants. The first two generations employed the Volkswagen Group D platform, with the current generation deriving from the MLB platform. After the original model's 1994 release, Audi released the second generation in late 2002, the third in late 2009, and the fourth and current iteration in 2017. Noted as the first mass-market car with an aluminium chassis, all A8 models have used this construction method co-developed with Alcoa and marketed as the Audi Space Frame.
The Audi A4 is a line of luxury compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first generation A4 succeeded the Audi 80. The automaker's internal numbering treats the A4 as a continuation of the Audi 80 lineage, with the initial A4 designated as the B5-series, followed by the B6, B7, B8, and the B9.
The Lexus GS is an executive car sold by Lexus, the premium division of Toyota. The same car had been launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan. For non-Japanese markets, it was released as the Lexus GS in February 1993. It continued using the Toyota Aristo name for the Japanese market until January 2005.
The Land Rover Discovery is a series of seven-seater family SUVs, produced under the Land Rover marque, from the British manufacturer Land Rover, and later Jaguar Land Rover. The series is currently in its fifth iteration, the first of which was introduced in 1989, making the Discovery the first new model series since the launch of the 1970 Range Rover – on which it was based – and only the third new product line since the conception of the Land Rover by Rover in 1948. The model is sometimes called influential, as one of the first to market a true off-road capable family car.
The Ferrari 308 GTB berlinetta and targa topped 308 GTS are V8 mid-engined, two-seater sports cars manufactured by the Italian company Ferrari from 1975 until 1985. The 308 replaced the Dino 246 GT and GTS in 1975 and was updated as the 328 GTB/GTS in 1985. The similar 208 GTB and GTS were equipped with a smaller, initially naturally aspirated and later turbocharged, two-litre engine, and were sold mainly in Italy.
The Audi V8 is a four-door, full-size luxury sedan, designed, manufactured and marketed by Audi in Germany from 1988 to 1993, as the company's flagship. As the first car from Audi to use a V8 engine, also was the first Audi to combine a quattro system with an automatic transmission. Early cars used 3.6-litre V8s, while later cars featured a 4.2-litre version of the engine. The Audi V8 was replaced by the Audi A8 in 1994, although the A8 was not marketed in North America until 1996.
The MGB is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), later the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland, as a four-cylinder, soft-top sports car. It was announced and its details first published on 19 September 1962. Variants include the MGB GT three-door 2+2 coupé (1965–1980), the six-cylinder sports car and coupé MGC (1967–69), and the eight-cylinder 2+2 coupé, the MGB GT V8 (1973–76).
The Audi RS 6 is a high-performance variant of the Audi A6 range, produced by the high-performance subsidiary company Audi Sport GmbH, for its parent company Audi AG, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, from 2002 onwards.
The Audi RS 4 is the high-performance variant of the Audi A4 range produced by Audi Sport GmbH for AUDI AG, a division of the Volkswagen Group. It sits above the Audi S4 as the fastest, most sports-focused car based on the A4's "B" automobile platform. The RS 4 was reintroduced in 2012, based on the A4 Avant instead of the sedan as did the original model.
The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 1993, after which the name of the base model was changed to V8 Coupe in 1996.
The Alfa Romeo Scighera is a functional, futuristically styled concept car designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro and manufactured by Italdesign of Turin, Italy in 1997 for automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. The name "Scighera" means mist in the Milanese dialect.
The BMW Nazca C2 is a concept sports car introduced at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. The car was designed by famed automotive design studio Italdesign, home of Giorgetto Giugiaro, and features a similar frontal design of a BMW. It was an evolution of the BMW Nazca M12 from 1991.
The Lamborghini Urus is a luxury SUV manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. It was introduced in December 2017 as a 2018 model year production vehicle. The Urus is the first Lamborghini SUV and five-door vehicle in the modern era, and the second SUV in the brand's history after the LM002, which was produced between 1986 and 1993.
The Audi 5 Series DTM is a touring car constructed by the German car manufacturer Audi AG for use in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. It was developed in 2011 and has been raced in DTM seasons 2012-2018 before being replaced by updated turbo version of Audi RS5 Turbo DTM from 2019 season onwards. It was designed by former Audi Head of Research and Development Wolfgang Dürheimer. The A5 DTM replaced the retired Audi A4 DTM at the end of the 2011 season and based on the production Audi A5.
The Maserati Kubang GT Wagon is a 2003 concept car unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. Designed by Italdesign Giugiaro, it was presented under the Maserati brand which was then owned by Ferrari. In accordance with Maserati's naming tradition, the Kubang is named after a Javanese wind.
The Audi R8 is the second generation of the R8 sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Audi. The Type 4S is based on the Lamborghini Huracán and shares its platform and engine. The Type 4S was introduced at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and its production began in late 2015.