A present for his 80th birthday. Giorgetto Giugiarothe car designer world-famous, after years dedicated to others, to four-wheel enthusiasts, decided to design a car on the occasion of his birthday on 6 August. So, during the Geneva Motor ShowGiugiaro has the opportunity to present to the public his latest creation, the 'Sibylla". A car electrican ecological choice, as the Italian entrepreneur called it, the best way to keep up with the times behind the wheel.
Absolute ergonomics of the Sibylla.
Sibylla is both a showcar than a four-door but sporty saloon. Because at a time when SUVs and crossovers are all the rage, Giugiaro felt the need to conceive a flagship, drawing inspiration from another supercar he had designed in the 1990s: the Nazcaanother concept presented at the Geneva Motor Show. Sibylla, on the other hand, is intended as a tribute to Maria Sibilla, Giorgetto's mother, but is also a reference to Hellenic mythology. The Sibyls, in fact, had prophetic virtues, they were able to predict the future. And this is precisely the designer's message, that of being able, through the creation of a prototype, to interpret the dreams of four-wheel enthusiasts.
Sybilla comes to life thanks to society GFG Styleestablished in 2015 in Moncalieri with his son Fabrizio Giugiaro. The company specialises in prototypes and production of concept car of research. Yes, because even for the creation of the latest car, the focus was much more on the ergonomics of the car itself, rather than on simple aesthetics, which nevertheless remains innovative. A few concepts, inspired by the cars of the 1960s and 1970s, enclosed in over five metres in length and one and a half metres in height. The four intended passengers, whose comfort has always been 'a fixation' for Giugiaro, can be accommodated very comfortably on as many individual seats.
Gull-wing doors.
The aesthetic novelty of the electric prototype is the unique glass dome that brings together the windscreen, side windows and the front part of the roof. An idea that therefore allows maximum comfort, also for passengers, who are no longer forced to lower their heads to enter the passenger compartment because the upper part opens in a 'gull-wing' shape. The Geneva prototype is electric, but a second version (which Giugiaro thought up for himself) will most likely be made, with a thermic engine.
To shape SibyllaGFG had to 'give in' to the help of a Chinese partner (Envision Energy, a leader in the energy storage sector) but, apparently, this was an advantage. In fact, the Italian designer himself explains in an interview that appeared in La Repubblica that the Chinese 'choose the design on the basis of preference but then consult me to ask for opinions; in this way I can condition the final choice. Design, in fact, is not democratic'.
The real challenge is to be able to conceive a cutting-edge car, designing it the old-fashioned way, i.e. with a pencil. Giugiaro said he finished the sketch in a week. And therein lies the difference with the digital sketch. "I conceive a car with just a few drawings,' he concludes, 'Others produce a hundred drawings for a single car.
If you are interested in becoming a car designer, take a look at the Master in Car Design of the Italian Design Institute.
Cover image from motorionline.
