Italdesign
Parcour Concept
Italdesign
Giugiaro celebrates 45 years in business at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show by
presenting a world première of the Parcour, a type of GT car that did not exist
until now; based on the original concept of a Sport Utility Vehicle and,
considering its astounding versatility, designed for extensive use on all types
of terrain.
The
conceptual reference for this type of car could be no other than an original
sporting discipline, recent yet already popular and practised across the world.
Parcour draws its inspiration from the discipline "invented" by David
Belle in France in the 1980s which became famous across the world in recent
years thanks to trends in media such as video games, action movies (just think
of the opening sequence of 007 Casino Royale) and naturally the Internet, all
media used by the younger generations, the ideal reference target for the
Parcour.
"Parkour
was devised as a new way of living and experiencing a metropolitan route
creatively", states Fabrizio Giugiaro, "Parkour enthusiasts, who are
referred to as traceurs or plotters, adapt their body to the surrounding
environment pursuing, through their movements, not just spectacle but instead
mainly maximum efficiency. The purpose of parkour is to move around as
efficiently as possible. By efficiently I mean: simply, quickly and safely,
which are characteristic features of our car".
With
a practical control device fitted in the dashboard, the driver can in fact
literally adapt the car to its surroundings, choosing from four different
settings, one designed for comfortable driving, one for off-road driving, one
for winter conditions and, lastly, one for high-speed driving on a race track.
The electronic system is triggered to modify the ride, the height above the
ground and the engine setup.
Parcour
is a two-seater car with four-wheel drive, fitted with a 550 HP Lamborghini V10
5.2-litre mid rear engine capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in just
3.6 seconds.
Parcour
was designed, engineered and produced in the Italdesign Giugiaro plant at
Moncalieri (TO).
"Every
time we approach a project for a research prototype, we always start with the
same question", explains Fabrizio Giugiaro, "what is missing from the
world of cars today? These days, we demand a car that is a comfortable and
high-performance vehicle, irrespective of its use and of the type of terrain,
which is how the SUV came about: it is a vehicle that guarantees driving
comfort even on rough and challenging terrains. We teamed this with the setup of
the ideal mid-engine sports car, being able to count, as always, on
Audi/Volkswagen group technology. In addition, we wanted to pay tribute to the
historic Lamborghini brand, which this year celebrates its fiftieth
anniversary, using their 10-cylinder engine.
The
result is the Parcour, a mid-engine sports car with minimum overhangs and broad
ramp angles that's ideal for all-track driving".
This
new setup is also apparent in the styling, with an exterior design that
metabolises the specific features of an SUV, of a Crossover, of a Gran Turismo
and those of a mid-engine sports car, combining them in an architecture that is
at the same time robust, slimline and light-weight despite the generously sized
tyres, produced especially by Vredestein. The latter, fitted on 22" rims,
set the style of the car, raising it considerably from the ground (from 210 to
330 mm depending on the selected setting) while the surfaces were designed to
reflect elegance, dynamism and sports appeal, while keeping in careful consideration
all the aerodynamic requirements.
The
style of the exterior was achieved by starting off with a scrupulous analysis
of the technical and aerodynamic requirements as well as on-board comfort,
naturally.
There
are two distinguishing traits of this aluminium and carbon fibre car, coated in
the classic Giugiaro Red: the A pillar is detached from the windscreen and also
acts as a deflector. In addition to having an architectural role, it conveys
the air onto the roof and sides of the car.
The
rear pillar on the other hand is designed to direct the air over the bonnet and
towards the rear retractable spoiler. This ensures both stability during
driving as well as cooling of the powerful 550 HP V10 engine.
This
particular setup makes for a very slimline and light-weight car, in the ¾ front
view. From the side, the soft silhouette of the body and the octagonal
cross-section of the generous wheel arches stand out. The inspiration was drawn
once again from the world of SUVs: this optical solution, unlike a more classic-shaped
wheel arch, makes it possible to achieve the right proportion between wheel and
body at all times, irrespective of the height above the ground, with an
electronically- adjustable range of 120 mm.
The
passenger compartment is inspired by urban style and is extremely enveloping,
almost sticking to the occupants; the driver and passenger are therefore very
close together and also to the windows, so that a reduced surface area is used
for windows, windscreen and rear window without compromising visibility from
the inside.
The
exoticism of the Parcour is represented by the two doors, made entirely of
carbon fibre. They are butterfly doors, like those fitted on endurance cars:
the doors swivel open upwards and inwards; thanks to this solution, getting
into the car is more convenient, since the door structure includes a portion of
the roof. The cameras replacing the door mirrors are fitted on the upper frame
of the doors, where they cross with the A pillar. A third camera, which
replaces the rear view mirror, is installed above the bonnet.
In
the plan view and the 3/4 view, the two long carbon slits along the entire
length of the car stand out. This is an aesthetic trick which helps lighten the
optical perception of a two-metre wide car, separating the sides from the body
of the car, also via a colour contrast between the red body and the black
carbon.
The
technical approach to the style of the Parcour also guided the design of the
front bonnet and rear boot.
The
front view emphasises the three large air intakes which form the grille. Each
duct conveys the air required to cool down the three large radiators. The
minimised overhang, which is unusual for a mid- engine car, affords a very wide
ramp angle, which is ideal for the all-track nature of this vehicle. A small
boot was obtained underneath the bonnet at the front, enclosed between the two
vertical carbon air intakes.
Similarly,
the design of the rear was dictated by aerodynamics: two light clusters tower
over a large air intake. The engine, encased between two large
pillars-spoilers, is in full view beneath the glass bonnet, as are part of the
mechanics. The glass bonnet is inserted in a carbon structure featuring a style
marked by the three large horizontal slits and the two vertical air intakes,
which are graphically highly emphasised, and are necessary to release the hot
air from the engine compartment.
Functionality
and ergonomics are the guiding concepts behind the design of the interiors. All
the controls have been grouped together on the steering wheel and on the
elegant dashboard which separates the driver from the passenger.
To
exploit all the interior space to the full and provide the utmost comfort, the
two seats are fitted as far back as possible and are fixed; the driver can
nonetheless adapt both the steering wheel and pedal unit, which are both
electronically adjustable, to find the ideal driving position depending on his
or her physique and driving preferences, a solution already used by Giugiaro in
the Scighera (1996), Alessandro Volta (2004) and Quaranta (2008) prototypes.
Three
bags can fit in the compartment obtained behind the two seats. "This
integrate" results from research linked to the evolution of the concept of
the boot, here becomes a set of functional, versatile and modular products,
able to satisfy the new requirements of travelling.
All
the information regarding the car and driving is provided on the multi-function
LCD monitor situated in front of the driver and recessed beneath the surface of
the dashboard. The monitor is split into two sections: depending on the control
selected by the driver, the top half displays the GPS navigation system, the
status of the vehicle, the music entertainment or the images from the rear
camera. The bottom half displays all the routine running information such as
speed, mileage covered, fuel level and revs. The graphics and colour of the
monitor change according to the chosen driving setting: white for
"Comfort", red for "Sport", orange for "Off-Road"
and blue for "Ice". On either side of the central monitor, at
dashboard level, there are two screens connected to the side cameras.
The
upper part of the elegant Plexiglas central dashboard houses the controls for
the climate control and the operation of the music entertainment, via touch controls
that the passenger can also use. The conditioned air is diffused uniformly by
the slit running across the entire dashboard.
The
lower part, above the central tunnel, features the buttons to activate and
deactivate ESP and the electronic parking brake and the four levers (which are
raised once the engine is running) to select the automatic transmission in the
four standard modes: Auto, Sport, Reverse and Neutral; the Parking position is
enabled automatically when the car is stationary.
The
middle of the dashboard also houses the dial selector for the four driving
modes: Comfort, for a relaxed drive suited to city settings; Off-Road for
off-road driving; Ice for winter conditions with poor road grip and lastly
Sport, to get the most of the full 550 HP of the Lamborghini 10-cylinder
engine. As mentioned above, each of these driving modes has been allocated an
identifying colour which, in addition to the graphics of the driver's monitor,
also changes the lighting on the dashboard, thanks to two rows of LEDs
positioned inside the Plexiglas.
The
inspiration for the suspension geometry comes from the so called push rod
archetype, which is used on street supercars, GT and Formula racers. On such
suspension a rod, connected to a whishbone, pushes the spring through a rocker.
The turning point of our concept is that the rod has been substituted by a
coilover.
This
suspension could be defined as a "pushrod 2.0"! It has 8 coilovers
installed onboard, 2 per corner.
When
driving on track or on street, only 4 coilovers are actually working so the car
behaves as a standard double wishbone GT vehicle. By means of a complex
hydraulic system the ride height can be changed and the rocker may be unlocked
so that in offroad conditions all of the 8 shocks start working together,
drastically reducing the suspension stiffness. This enables the Parcour to
absorb heavy bumps and road roughness.
"A
car with a decidedly sporty setup, as a mid-engine car, but designed for all
weather conditions, for all situations, could not fail to have an open-top
version", explains Fabrizio Giugiaro. The setup is very similar to that of
a coupé but in this case the style has been redesigned starting with the
engine, to enhance the sporty spirit even further; in fact, in this version
there is no interruption in the continuity between the passenger compartment
and the engine compartment, we could go so far as to say they are a
whole".
To
make up for the absence of a roof, the front and rear pillars have been
strengthened with carbon fibre; they not only play an aerodynamic role but also
act as a roll-bar, to guarantee the safety of occupants if the car overturns.
The
front pillars illustrate the distinctiveness: each one consists of two distinct
and separate elements: "this way", continues Fabrizio Giugiaro,
"we have a double dimension compared with a coupé, to ensure the
appropriate sturdiness of the roll-bar but, thanks to the fact that they are
made up of two separate elements, the driver can see through them and the blind
spot is drastically reduced, guaranteeing optimal visibility".
The
sporty nature of the open-top version is highlighted by its capacity to
conveniently transport two pairs of skis, thanks to the mountable ski rack. The
custom Giugiaro Design skis were made by Blossom.
