Made in Italy crashed in England

The Giugiaro concept car 'Parcour'

ItaldesignGiugiaro has been a part of the Volkswagen Group since 2010 and has its roots in February 1968 when Giorgetto Giugiaro set up a design studio that represented an innovative formula for the car industry. More then 300 car models have been created like Lotus Esprit S1, Fiat Uno, Fiat Punto, DeLorean DMC-12, Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT and many others.

In 2013 the company celebrated it 45 years in business at Geneva by presenting a world première of  a car who looks like a cross between a SUV and a higher set super car with big tires. The 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, suitable for any terrain.

Inspiration Theme

The Frenchman David Belle invented in the 80 years a sport which, then as now still has many fans. In that sport 'Parkour' it comes to running, jumping, climbing and balancing to overcome obstacles - regardless of whether walls, tree trunks or garbage cans in the way. Parkour movements can be seen in almost every action movie, like for example James Bond Casino Royale. So the the characteristic features of the car are simply, quickly and safely.

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.

The concept

"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. In addition, we wanted to pay tribute to the historic Lamborghini brand, which this year celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, using their 10-cylinder engine.

This new setup is also apparent in the styling, with an design that metabolises the specific features of an SUV 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). 

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, which remember me to the features of the One- Off Lamborghini Concept- 'La Pregunta'.

DESIGNED BY AERODYNAMICS

There are two distinguishing traits of this aluminium and carbon fibre car: 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.

HIGH-TECH MINIMALIST INTERIOR

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, 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. 

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.

INNOVATIVE SUSPENSION

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 whishbone 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.

Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour: Crash,  — 23.07.2013

At the Festival of Speed the Concept car ​​was the crashed. The unique car landed hard in some hay bales. But happy to say the company still has still the Parcour Roadster, an open-air road star. 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. 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 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.

Source by Italdesign Giugiaro & Photos © Jul Krabetz, © Autobild