The Lamborghini Marco Polo, or Italdesign Marco Polo, was a styling exercise by

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 ...

. Introduced in 1982 at the

Bologna Motor Show The Bologna Motor Show (known as the "''Salone internazionale dell'auto e della moto di Bologna''" in Italian) was an auto show which was scheduled to be held annually in December, in Bologna, Italy. The editions of 2009 and 2012 were the shor ...

, the Marco Polo was inspired by the

Lancia Medusa The Lancia Medusa is an Italian concept vehicle built by Lancia. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and debuted in 1980 at the Turin Auto Show. Specifications The Medusa is based on the chassis and mechanics of the Lancia Montecarlo, and ...

concept car designed by Italdesign two years prior. The design was originally intended for an upcoming DeLorean DMC-24 sedan, but DMC ran out of money before the concept was finished. Italdesign then recycled the design into a concept for Lamborghini. The wheels on the Marco Polo are standard DeLorean alloys covered by hubcaps. The Marco Polo is not a running prototype, rather the design is only a painted plastic model for aerodynamic research. The Lamborghini badge on the nose of the car was not to imply any design program undertaken with the factory but was a compliment paid by Giugiaro to the famous manufacturer that became noteworthy for pushing the limits of automotive design. Although Lamborghini has a more exciting image to its products, Giugiaro decided to give this study a less aggressive line, preferring instead to focus on aerodynamic efficiency in order to provide a quieter passenger compartment and higher speed while maintaining fuel consumption. As such, the Marco Polo features a Cx of 0.24, compared to the Medusa's 0.26. The Marco Polo, while a four-seater, has only two doors of the gullwing style, like the ones used on the Marzal, which can be opened from either the front or back seats.

References

External links

Italdesign's Image Gallery Database

References

External links

See also