"Oh. I'll put this one to the CEO to answer because maybe you think I'm telling you bullsh**t?
So says Automobili Pininfarina's design boss, Davide Amantea. All TG had wondered, aloud, was whether it was actually possible to make a series production car that looks like the concept version of Pininfarina's proposed second model. He's smiling as he says it, so while no offence was intended, none has been taken.
Besides, it's not a daft question. The Pura Vision, as it's known, is almost bang on six metres long, two metres wide and 1.7m tall. So it's big, gargantuan in fact, an automotive land yacht from the country that gave us the eternally stylish but noticeably more compact Riva speedboat. The nautical parallel is encouraged by Amantea, who says the Pura Vision looks especially like a boat from above. The plan view is not one designers often laser in on, but in this case it's irresistible. It's the car drones were invented for, maybe even as a launchpad. You can picture this thing as the villain's wheels in a Marvel film.
Electrification was supposed to liberate designers from the strictures of traditional proportion, but many brave pills remain unpopped. Perhaps Pininfarina is the one to light the way ahead. It certainly has the legacy. The company was founded 95 years ago, and swiftly established itself as arguably the definitive Italian carrozzeria. Me, I love the 1936 Lancia Astura Tipo Bocca cabriolet, but it was the post-war Cisitalia 202 that made the world take notice, with its long bonnet, curvy tail, and fully enclosed body. Enzo Ferrari was definitely paying attention because in 1951 midway between Modena and Turin - he met Battista Farina and asked him to be his official design partner. Yep, every significant historic Ferrari owes its form to Pininfarina.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
INEOS GRENADIER
\"It looks like it could batter its way through anything\"
The 1,000bhp P1 drift car is finished (on the outside] and doesn't it look sensational?
WHAT IS IT? A McLaren racecar carbon tub clothed in P1 GTR panels with the full drift car treatment. Consider us well and truly intrigued
HEAD TO HEAD SUPER SALOONS
This should just be your usual, regular, ultra fast, four door battle. But after what AMG has done to one of our very favourite speed machines, it's anything but. It's AMG C63 vs Alfa QF...
REAR OF THE YEAR
What happens when you cross Zagato with Alpine? An A110 that can change its clothes...
SAVE THE WHALES
Since a Californian startup began reimagining 15 years ago, the popularity of restomod Porsches has exploded. Does Singer still do it best? We'll let its latest-turbocharged - creation answer that one...
...sell on Monday
Driving to Pikes Peak in Ford's Mustang Mach-E Rally on the path least trodden, arriving in time to see its F-150 SuperTruck take on the hillclimb. What could go wrong?
GO WITH THE FLOW
The most aerodynamic car Audi has ever made... is a great big executive barge. And when the smoke clears, you'll see it's been a long time coming...
SCRAMBLED SEGG
The Koenigsegg Chimera is a one-off mashup of Agera RS, Jesko and, CC850 - potent, but what exactly is the point?
SIMPLIFLY AND ADD LIGHTNESS
At the peak of Lotus's powers, boss Colin Chapman bought himself the coolest aircraft in motorsport history... 45 years later, TopGear's on a mission to find it again
CANNON BULL
Adrian Newey's RB17 hybrid V10 hypercar is at long last (almost) ready Track car, perfection or pointless?