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A photograph and a description illustrate the fascinating history of the Fiat 850 Vanessa, which was designed by Giugiaro in 1966 and was the first car that was "built for women," with many technical solutions that were made to measure. For instance, the back window opens like a seagull's wing to simplify putting a cradle or small packages into the car; the driver's seat cushion rotates, thus making getting out of the car both simpler and more discreet with just a rotation the upper body; and the dashboard features many drawers, making it a sort of traveling beauty case.
Among the many themes developed by ‘Dream,' special mention goes to the aerodynamic research that was promoted by Alberto Morelli and the Politecnico di Torino in the 1950s. This research was later developed by Pininfarina and led to the construction of the wind tunnel in Grugliasco (which became fully operational in 1972).
From dream cars in the shape of a half-shell, like the Modulo by Pininfarina - a true icon of the exhibition - and the low, wedge-shaped prototypes that hug the road, masterpieces like the Carabo, the Lancia Stratos Prototipo by Bertone and the Manta by Italdesign Giugiaro, to shapes and soft cross-sections that approach the ‘pure' and theoretical forms that represented the points of reference for designing mass-produced cars starting in the mid-1970s.
At the end of the ‘70s, Turin launched other innovations in automotive architecture. Shapes - as seen in studies by Count Revelli di Beaumont - grew in height, like the Megagamma which was designed in 1978 by Italdesign Giugiaro. This car, with its flat roof and sliding back seats, introduced Europe to minivans, a concept that was then taken up by Japan and France.
Lots of space - sometimes even too much of it - became a status symbol that attracted many consumers. The dream of macro cars was counterbalanced by a desire to miniaturize, city cars to help solve the increasing problem of traffic and mobility, which was soon joined by the need to reduce pollution by using forms of clean and renewable energy.
'Dream' concludes its automotive panorama by confirming how Turin's design centers are intent on promoting hybrid and electric systems and hydrogen power as evolutionary solutions to complement the continuous fine-tuning of technology and production processes. The one-off Sintesi by Pininfarina, Quaranta by Giugiaro and Hidra by Fioravanti are the latest proposals that were presented last March at the Motor Show in Geneva.
Related Articles:
Review: Pininfarina Sintesi concept 
Italdesign Giugiaro Quaranta - Geneva 2008
Fioravanti Hindra - Geneva 2008
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