giugiaro quaranta conceptYou gotta love Italdesign. Headed by Giorgietto Giugiaro, the man responsible for the styling of many of the most influential vehicles to be built within the past 40-odd years, this Italian design firm is still churning out innovative and good-looking projects (last year's Giugiaro Mustang  comes to mind). For this year's Geneva show, Italdesign released the Quaranta concept, itself inspired by the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta concept. The profile is undeniably wedgy, but incorporates both modern and classic styling elements very well. Mounted amidships in the Quaranta chassis is a 3.3-liter V-6 Hybrid powertrain that develops 268 horsepower and 212 lb-ft of torque. That's enough to propel the Quaranta and four passengers to 60 mph in just over four seconds. A claimed range of 621 miles is made possible with the Quaranta's 16 gallon fuel tank, and the vehicle's roof incorporates solar panels responsible for powering the interior electronics as well as maintaining the battery charge. The Quaranta can be run in two- or four-wheel drive mode and the ride height can be raised over nine inches to cope with uneven terrain. This concept is proof positive that Giugiaro and son are still at the top of their game.

giugiaro quaranta concept