The Lamborghini Calà (also known as the Italdesign Calà) was a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

designed for

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

Italdesign Giugiaro Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best kno ...

. It was first shown at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show. It was a completely functional prototype that never made it into production. Its name was derived from the Piedmontese dialect of Northern Italy and meant “look, over there!” The Calà was envisioned by Italdesign to fill Lamborghini's need for a replacement for the Jalpa, production of which was discontinued in 1988 at the behest of then owners of the company,

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

. When Chrysler sold Lamborghini to

Megatech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Paul ...

in 1994, the Calà's design took shape, but when Megatech sold Lamborghini to the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

in 1998, the concept was shelved. Fifteen years after the end of its production, the Jalpa would finally be replaced in 2003 by the

Gallardo Gallardo is a Spanish derivation of the French name "Gaillard" and may refer to: People Notable people with the surname include: Juan gallardo grimaldo 1738 *Almudena Gallardo (born 1979), Spanish archer, Olympic competitor *Ángel Gallardo (ci ...

which used the principles of the Calà as an inspiration.

Design and specifications

The Calà was powered by a mid-mounted

V10 engine A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder pis ...

, which generated a maximum power output of . It was mated to a 6-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

that drove the rear wheels, with an aluminium chassis and a hand-built carbon fibre body. It borrowed elements from some of Lamborghini's iconic production vehicles, such as the headlights of the Miura and the widescreen of the

Countach The Lamborghini Countach () is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs deve ...

. Top speed was estimated at , while the acceleration time was under 5 seconds. The Calà was built on the previous Gandini-styled P140 prototype.

Other media

The car is featured on the cover and in the 1997

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Need for Speed II ''Need for Speed II'' is a racing video game released in 1997. It is a part of the ''Need for Speed'' series and is the second installment, following ''The Need for Speed''. Gameplay Like its predecessor, ''Need for Speed II'' allows play ...

''.

References

External links

Italdesign Giugiaro: Lamborghini Calà

ConceptCarz: Lamborghini Calà
Cala Italdesign concept vehicles Sports cars {{modern-auto-stub