The Lamborghini Calà (also known as the Italdesign Calà) was a
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...
designed for
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...
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 ...
. 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
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
. 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 Pa ...
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 public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...
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 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 engines. Several V10 diesel engines have been pro ...
, 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 Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
that drove the rear wheels, with an aluminium chassis and a hand-built
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
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.
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
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
''
Need for Speed II
''Need for Speed II'' is a 1997 racing video game released for PlayStation (console), PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is a part of the Need for Speed, ''Need for Speed'' series and is the second installment, following ''The Need for Speed' ...
''.
References
External links
Italdesign Giugiaro: Lamborghini CalàConceptCarz: Lamborghini Calà
Cala
Italdesign concept vehicles
Sports cars
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