Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta: 2008’s Visionary Supercar Concept

MonoStream - The late 2000s marked a moment when the automotive world began seriously questioning how performance, sustainability, and design heritage could coexist in a single vision. It was within this shifting landscape that the Italdesign-Giugiarro Quaranta emerged—not as a forecast of a production car, but as a deeply reflective concept. Revealed to the public at the 2008 Geneva International Motor Show, the Quaranta was created to celebrate forty years of Italdesign Giugiaro’s work in automotive styling and technological research, distilling decades of experience across everything from compact city cars and MPVs to super sports cars, luxury flagships, SUVs, and even commercial vehicles developed alongside leading global manufacturers. 

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept was conceived as an extreme yet environmentally conscious super sports car, pairing four-wheel drive with an advanced hybrid system enhanced by solar energy. (Picture from: 7Christine in Facebook)

Conceived as an “extreme” yet environmentally conscious super sports car, the Quaranta combined four-wheel drive with an advanced hybrid system enhanced by solar energy. Its layout challenged convention by placing a central rear-mounted engine within a single-volume body, while still offering space for three adults and one child, plus a surprisingly generous luggage compartment. This unusual packaging echoed the spirit of the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta—one of the earliest single-volume, mid-engined concepts—reinterpreted through contemporary technology and enriched by Italdesign’s four decades of research and experimentation. 

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept used an unconventional cabin entry with a single large upper door integrating the sides, opening upward by button and aligning with a rear door for engine and luggage access. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Visually, the Quaranta stood out through its flat, compact proportions and a continuous body line stretching from its sharply cut nose to the tail, aided by an almost horizontal windscreen rake. Cabin access was equally unconventional: a large upper door incorporating the side sections opened upward at the press of a button, guided by proximity sensors, and aligned with a second upper rear door that provided access to both the engine bay and the boot. Integrated into the roof and front bodywork were solar panels forming a distinctive opaque central strip, capable of generating up to 250 watts—enough to power cockpit climate control and recharge the electric battery.

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept stood out visually with flat, compact proportions and a continuous body line flowing from its sharp nose to the tail, emphasized by an almost horizontal windscreen rake. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Aerodynamics shaped nearly every surface. The absence of a traditional front grille made room for side air inlets positioned above the headlights, doubling as front stabilizers, while sharp rear edges enhanced airflow separation. At the back, a precisely molded spoiler worked in tandem with a lower wing inspired by modern Formula 1 solutions, compensating for the lack of a conventional upper stabilizer. Along the sides, expansive glazing ran from the front fenders to the tail, integrating air vents and water-cooling ducts into the sill area. One of the most radical details was the “negative” contour line along the shoulder—an unconventional feature rarely seen on super sports cars, even today. 

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept featured a flat-floor interior enabled by its electric four-wheel-drive system, allowing a central driving position and seating for two adults and a child behind the driver. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Inside, innovation was just as bold. The flat floor, made possible by the electric four-wheel-drive system and the absence of a traditional transmission tunnel, allowed a central driving position and flexible seating for two adults and a child behind the driver. The multi-control steering wheel eliminated traditional stalks, placing all driving functions on the spokes—an idea previously explored in Italdesign’s 1980 Medusa concept. The dashboard adopted a clean, modern sporting aesthetic with instruments arranged on two levels: upper screens for side and rear camera views, including a dedicated left-side overtaking aid, and a lower section for vehicle management, complemented by an X-ray night-driving visor. Dark leather and Alcantara upholstery underscored the refined Italian character of the cabin. 

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept combined a precisely molded rear spoiler and F1-inspired lower wing with expansive side glazing that integrated air vents and water-cooling ducts into the sills. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Technically, the Quaranta was built around a carbon-fiber monocoque frame combined with aluminum and special steel components, while the windscreen and roof used laminated glass with UVA filtering. Power came from an electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system featuring a small electric motor at the front and a combined thermal-electric unit mounted centrally at the rear, with electronic management developed in cooperation with Toyota. Solar-powered batteries were positioned between the cockpit and engine bay, supported by a 60-liter double fuel tank integrated into the frame, enabling a potential driving range of up to 1,000 kilometers. Ride height was adjustable between sporty and raised settings, reaching an impressive 230 mm of ground clearance—exceptional for a super sports car and suitable for varied terrain. 

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Quaranta concept was engineered with centralized mass between the axles, including forward-mounted mufflers, leaving only the radiator and a large overhanging luggage compartment outside. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Weight distribution was carefully engineered so that nearly all mechanical mass sat between the axles, including mufflers placed ahead of the rear wheels, leaving only the radiator and a large overhanging luggage compartment—capable of holding two golf bags—outside the central zone. The suspension system reflected Italdesign’s fascination with motorsport engineering: front suspensions inspired by Formula 1 featured a central mono-shock and a sophisticated linkage system simulating a multilink setup, with components designed entirely in-house using special steel and Ergal. | mQbW0-ahDjs |

Entirely developed and built at Italdesign Giugiaro’s Moncalieri facilities, the Quaranta embodied the company’s full-service philosophy—uniting design, engineering, safety, ergonomics, and mechanical development into a single, forward-looking statement that still resonates in today’s conversations about performance, sustainability, and intelligent automotive design. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | ITALDESIGN.IT | GIORGETTOFABRIZIOGIUGIARO.IT | CARROZZIERI-ITALIANI | SUPERCARS.NET | ULTIMATECARPAGE | 7CHRISTINE IN FACEBOOK ]

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