Car designer Luigi Colani is a conceptualist from God

If you think that the Rinspeed studio, which makes some pretty weird-looking cars, has the most eccentric designers on the planet, you're sorely mistaken. In this sense, Swiss engineers are simply boring hacks compared to the great and at the same time terrible Luigi Colani.

Lutz Colani was born on August 2, 1928 in Berlin. In 1957 he changed his name to Luigi, after which he studied art in Germany, aerodynamics in France and lived in Japan, China and the USA. At the same time, he managed to turn everything he touched into works of art - from a bottle of mineral water and Canon cameras (in the bottom photo) to McDonnell-Douglas airplanes and cars, for which he became famous.

In Kolani cars, everything is subordinated to aerodynamics. For example, its model, built on the basis of the Citroen 2CV, set a world record for its time in fuel consumption - only 1.7 l/100 km. The designer always argued that the appearance of cars was too imperfect, and the heads of manufacturing companies were too conservative.

“Look at trucks - they are simply square and have to push a huge amount of air in front of them,” says the German. “They don’t have aerodynamics, but the stupid industry never realized that.” Waste billions of liters of fuel instead of accepting my ideas... And the air on Earth would be cleaner.”

However, Colani did not limit himself to land transport - he developed ships, a 1000-seat aircraft, helicopters and even a concept for NASA. He often worked in the territory of the former Soviet Union, where he created a project for the new Lada Niva, which bears the name of Mikhail Gorbachev. In addition, he created a series of exclusive pianos, which are very popular in Hollywood. They were bought by such stars as Lenny Kravitz, Prince and Eddie Murphy. Why, he even designed coffins...

While Colani is often seen as an oddball in the auto industry, he has always commanded the respect of his peers. And the awards he won cannot be counted. The designer is a co-creator of production cars from such famous brands as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche. However, today I will draw your attention to his most daring and unconventional ideas.

Colani Ferrari Lotec Testa d'Oro

This is not a model at all, but an absolutely standard car. Despite its strange appearance, its aerodynamics are fine. Proof of this is the world speed record of 351 km/h, achieved on the salt lake in Bonneville (USA) in 1991.

The technical stuffing of the car was entrusted to the specialists of Lotec Gmbh - the same ones who created the Mercedes-Benz C1000 supercar with a power of 1000 hp. In the Testa d'Oro they installed a 12-cylinder Ferrari engine with two turbochargers, developing 750 hp. and 900 Nm.

Colani Le Mans Concept

One of the most daring/crazy projects in history. The car consists of two parts - one contains the engine, and the other contains the cabin. To create it, Colani took his inspiration from the aerodynamic shapes of propellerless gliders.

The rear section, where the suspension and braking system are located, was borrowed from the Lamborghini Miura. The engine, however, was not delivered, since the unusual car remained just a project. This model was recently put up for sale with a starting price of $75,000.

Colani Eifelland Formula One

Luigi Colani not only created concepts, but also turned some of his aerodynamic visions into reality. In 1972 he created a Formula 1 car for the Eifelland team. It was based on the March 721 and was powered by a V8 engine from Ford. Unlike other teams, there was only one car and it was driven by pilot Rolf Stomelen.

However, some problems emerged - with cooling, with clamping force and reliability in general. Thus, some of Colani's decisions were replaced with those traditional for Formula 1 at that time. In 1972, the car competed in 8 of 12 races, with its best finish being tenth.

In 1970, Colani proposed an alternative supercar project for Mercedes-Benz, which just a year earlier had shown its S111 mid-engined concept coupe.

It is worth recognizing that, despite its unusual shape and color, the car turned out to be quite aerodynamic with a drag coefficient of only 0.2. That's twice as good as most sports cars of the time.

Mazda Le Mans Prototype

Mazda also collaborated with maestro Colani after the company won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race seven years earlier. The prototype created by the designer seems designed to simply scare the crap out of most opponents with its mere appearance.

However, from the technical side of the car, everything looks pretty good. It offers a rotary engine combination with 950 hp. and excellent aerodynamics.

Just look at this smiling car, which, by the way, is quite fast. Isn’t this the most striking proof that for Luigi Colani in the field of aerodynamics there are absolutely no secrets. At Lake Bonneville, the prototype, equipped with a 3.5-liter turbocharged engine, reached a top speed of 407 km/h.

If you need ordinary special equipment, and not an unusual car, even with amazing aerodynamics, you should know that there is special equipment rental in Kyiv, which guarantees you not only the optimal price level, but also the high quality of the equipment being rented. So be sure to listen to my words.

About the author: Andrey Strashko

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Supertrucks Kolani January 29th, 2015

2006 Colani SuperTruck. Another version of designer Luigi Colani on the theme of an aerodynamic tractor. Probably everyone has seen one of his cars, but for some reason I only noticed this one now.

Luigi Colani is a living legend of industrial design whose work is so fantastic that it is ahead of its time. Luigi Colani is the founder of bio-design (a direction in industrial design, the main forms of which are taken from nature). Although people call him a designer, he considers himself a “3D philosopher.” Colani once said, “The earth is round, all celestial bodies are round, and they all move in circular or elliptical orbits. I’m going to follow nature – the world I create is also round.” Everything he took on acquired streamlined, smoothed shapes - helicopters, trucks, houses, etc. right down to the chairs and headphones. These shapes are not just a flight of fancy, but a very thoughtful move: Colani trained in aerodynamics and his stunningly beautiful streamlined cars and planes break all speed records, while significantly saving fuel. The designer is ahead of his time, but many of his projects remain unclaimed.

Let's look at his trucks:

Luigi Colani was born under the name Lutz Colani in 1928 in Berlin. His family had Kurdish and Polish roots. He drew passionately from childhood, and later became a student at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der Künste), where he studied painting and sculpture. Later, fascinated by aerodynamics, Luigi studied it at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

In the 1950s he lived in California, and it was in the 1950s that his work in the field of design began to receive recognition. Thus, for the design of the Fiat car, he received the Golden Rose award at the Geneva Motor Show (Geneva, Switzerland).

In the 1960s, Luigi Colani was still passionate about car design, and was employed by manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo and Lancia, Volkswagen and BMW.

At the same time, Kolani could be distracted by less significant projects, as if in between, developing pleasant little things like souvenirs and key chains for various corporations.

In 1972, the whole racing world started talking about Colani - it was he who developed the design for the 'Eifelland' Formula 1 car.

In 1973, he opened his own Design Center in Japan, and in 1976 he presented to the world his new development - the 'RFB Fanliner' aircraft, made of plastic.

Photo 3.

In general, Luigi Colani's main passion has always been and remains aerodynamics. He built his own car model 'Colani 2CV' based on the French 'Citroën 2CV', which set a world record for fuel consumption. And Colani spent at least three decades developing aerodynamic trucks, among them the 'Colani-LKW', based on the 'Mercedes'.

In general, Luigi Colani developed no less than 35 concept cars, which are today known as concept cars, among them there are also models for Porsche, Mazda, Ferrari, Ford, etc.

Colani was known to have little respect for the modern automobile industry—as an inventor, he knew for sure that there was a much better, more environmentally friendly and much more economical way to produce the same trucks. Alas, the 'dumb industry' continued to turn a deaf ear to his lonely voice.

In general, the range of activities of this man is truly amazing - for example, the pianos he developed based on ‘Schimmel’ were purchased by Lenny Kravitz, Prince and Eddie Murphy; it was his design of the Canon camera that at one time determined the face of the brand; in Japan and Thailand he worked a lot on the development of architectural projects; and among his small developments there are bottles for drinks, headphones for players and even furniture. It is known that Colani even worked on uniforms for Hamburg police officers.

Liudzhi Colani is called the founder of the so-called biodesign - one of the trends in industrial design. In general, the main characteristics of all Colani designs are rounded shapes. ‘The earth is round, all celestial bodies are round; they all move in circles or elliptical orbits,” Colani says.

‘… So why should I join the ranks of those who are trying to make the world angular? I am going to continue the philosophy of Galileo Galilei: my world is also round.’

It is known that the great designer currently lives in Germany, and his son Solon Luigi Lutz followed in his father’s footsteps and also became a designer.

Photo 4.

Photo 5.

Colani is confident that in the 21st century we must learn to coexist with flora and fauna at a new level. That is why it is so important for a designer to find a connection between the geometry of living and nonliving things. For example, in 1986, Colani designed 14 models of environmentally friendly “cars of the future”, shaped like either a flying seagull or a predatory fish.

The chaotic arrangement of exhibits hints at the subtle connections between biodesign and nature. Streamlined models of Formula 1 racing cars, toothbrushes sharpened from a single unprocessed gold bar, a shovel with a curved handle hidden in the corner, and entire bio-cities with trees in the shape of dill umbrellas are scattered in a chaotic manner throughout the museum hall. However, each of the works, despite their obvious roots in nature, is first and foremost a triumph of the engineer over the artist. For Colani, who studied aerodynamics at the Sorbonne, design is a completely rational element, more akin to a major renovation than a creative process.

Photo 6.

Photo 7.

Models of a “drop-shaped” Mercedes-Benz truck and a compact house with a rotating kitchen ball came out of Kolani’s workshop. In 1954, he received the "Golden Rose" at the Geneva Motor Show for a radical redesign of the body of the Fiat 1100 passenger car. Finally, the design of today's professional Canon cameras is also the work of Colani. It was with his prototype of the Canon T-90 camera, created in 1986, that the “era of rounded shapes” and handles that follow the shape of a hand began in photographic equipment. Within a few years, angular “brick” cameras finally gave way to such models in reporters’ bags.

However, the main postulate of biodesign is that, in general, there is no need to invent anything. Like, nature came up with everything for us. But at first glance, the similarity of Colani’s works with the organic world is not so obvious. Wicker country benches and herbariums of daisies on the walls - identifying marks of decorative naturalism - are not at the exhibition. The designer embodies the natural principle in his works in the streamlined shapes of chairs and airplane models, as well as in colors and figures borrowed from the animal world.

Photo 8.

Here's more about this more famous model:

Famous Italian avant-garde designer L. Collani designed a prototype of the “2001 freight road train”. In its development and construction, he collaborated with 19 companies, including FIAT(chassis), Pirelli (tires and wheels), Fichtel und Sachs (hydraulic equipment).

Kollani strived to obtain Cx equal to 0.4. To do this, he proposed a completely new architectural solution for the head part of the train, minimized the gap between it and the semi-trailer, and installed a side fairing between the wheels of the tractor.

In order to dramatically improve safety Kollani found a fundamentally new solution, thanks to which the module with the driver’s compartment during a frontal impact moves along the guides backwards and upwards, and special hydraulic devices absorb the impact energy. Also of interest in terms of safety is the round windshield with a three-blade propeller-type windshield wiper. The driver's workplace is equipped with control instruments with digital rather than dial indicators. Sound signaling is widely used, with the goal of relieving the driver’s attention from visual monitoring of the operation of road train systems using instruments.

Car 2001 L. Collani based on a truck tractor FIAT- another attempt to create a prototype truck that is ahead of its time.

Year of construction - 1977: number of seats - 2; engine: type - diesel, number of cylinders - 8, displacement - 17,200 cm3, power - 350 hp. s./266 kW; wheel formula - 4X2; length of the road train - about 15,000 mm; width - 2500 mm; height - 4000 mm; total weight of the road train - 38,000 kg; highest speed - 120 km/h.

Photo 9.

Having found the contacts of Colani’s workshop, we contacted the maestro’s secretary. It turned out that the founder of industrial biodesign now lives in China, which did not at all disrupt our interview plans. In addition, our phone call found Luigi Colani not in the Middle Kingdom, but in a room in one of the Milan hotels

Mister Professor, where do you work now?

I founded the headquarters of Colani Design in Milan and am currently preparing for a huge exhibition that will take place here in three months. By the way, not so long ago - in October - I flew to Moscow to Moscow Design Week. During my stay in your country, I gave lectures at the University. Bauman. And now I’m planning to open a Think Tank (analytical center, from English - “think tank” or “thought factory” - approx. Avtoyug.ru) in South America. I would like to open the same center in Moscow so that Russia can create a real sensation at the World Exhibition in Milan in 2015. Negotiations on the creation of my Think Tank in the Russian capital are already underway.

I have always been a true fan of your country. My sister studied at the University. Lomonosov, she studied mathematics. But, unfortunately, I was not able to receive a Russian education, because my Russian was not good enough. But I speak French, and this allowed me to get a diploma at the Sorbonne.

Previously, your museum was located in Karlsruhe, a sister city of Krasnodar. Is it still operational?

No more. I left Germany. I was invited to teach at a university in China. I moved to Shanghai and, in fact, I live there now. And here, in Milan, I am conducting a kind of experiment: I am interested in whether it is still possible to save Europe. China is significantly ahead of us in terms of development. And I thought, if so, then my help to this country is not so necessary. But Europe and, in particular, some of its cities really need it.

Do you still get up at five every morning and drive your thirty-year-old Rolls-Royce to the workshop?
This was the case when I lived in Germany. Now my old Rolls-Royce is being repaired. And I am in Milan (Here the telephone connection with the professor is interrupted. A minute later we got through again. Mr. Colani, laughing, says: “This is a truly special interview”).

Did you have any Russian students?

Yes, and a lot. Most of them remained in Europe, many settled in Switzerland.

How were they different from students from other countries?

I will say one thing: the Russian mentality is completely special. And it is not without reason that Russia is the leading country in the world in the field of technology. Therefore, students who came from Russia were always a real enrichment for my team. There are amazing heads in Russia, many of whom are currently just walking the streets, without anything to do. I have already talked to the university. Bauman regarding the World Exhibition in Milan, which is still five years away: I, together with Russian students, would like to set a world record at this exhibition on land, water and in the air. May this give courage to your youth to fight more boldly for your magnificent country.

In almost all photographs available on the Internet, you are wearing white clothes. This is not without reason, right?

(laughs) I'll give it a very simple explanation. These are my work clothes. Because on the run I work with materials such as styrofoam (a type of foam plastic - approx. Avtoyug.ru) and gypsum, and they are white. I create something daily! I emphasize - every day. And being in white clothes, I just need to dust myself off to get back to a clean look and go straight to an interview, for example. In a black suit or any dark clothing I would always look dirty. White clothing has been my favorite uniform for many, many years.

I read somewhere that you wear different scarves and that you supposedly have about 3,000 of them.

It is not true. I have one white silk scarf. I wear it all the time. I bought it very cheap in China and it matches my clothes perfectly (laughs).

Your designs have always been “out of this world.” Cars, planes, trains - all this seemed to come from the future or descend from space. And you yourself are older than yourself: you are already over 80, but you look a little over 60. It feels like you are living for tomorrow. Or is that not true?

Regarding my age, I must say that I am a person who leads a very sporty lifestyle. I dive and swim like a fish. I spent a third of my life underwater (laughs). Do you know why? Because inspiration comes to me underwater. I always wake up very early and live very ascetically. I still wear the suits I wore when I was seventeen. I want to say that I haven't changed since then. In my head, I once and for all remained young and in all my splendor, and this, as you know, has a great influence not only on the state of mind, but also on the body. As for the first part of the question, I’ll tell you this: I don’t live for tomorrow. The things I create, which many people think look like they come from the future, are actually very much in keeping with the present. And they should have existed today for a long time, unless, of course, the world were constantly choking on economic and political crises. We live in an ultra-conservative time that does not recognize progress at all. Where we are ultra-modern is in weapons. Unfortunately.

The Porsche 911 is incredibly beautiful, in large part because it follows design over function. At the same time, there are many examples of beautiful cars that behave poorly on the road. What do you base your work on—design or function?

It is impossible to separate one from the other. Good design that nature creates is always 100% functional. The design that a person makes has maybe fifteen, twenty, or at most thirty percent functionality. In my design work, I make every effort to follow nature, which is our most expert teacher and master of design and will remain so for hundreds of years to come.

Have you ever been asked to make a car for Batman?

No, no, no... I wouldn’t even undertake such stupidity. You know, the American disease that has settled in this world must be gradually supplanted. We must understand that America, throughout its short existence, has managed without a single civilization. Over the last couple of hundred years, Americans have slipped into an abyss of wickedness. They are hardly sane. That's why they try to dominate this world.

Have you already seen the first Russian supercar Marussia? We recently spoke with Paolo Pininfarina, who didn’t really like the sharp corners of Marusya.

I heard about it, but, unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, although I would really like to. I'm interested, really interested, what the Marussia developers did. If I manage to open Think Tank in Moscow, then the first thing I will do together with Russian students is to build the fastest and most awesome car in the world. This will be for Russia and with it. It will certainly be the best car. On it we will go to the south of Russia to set a world record there. In honor of Russia! This would be my gift to your country. The second record I want to set for you is a bicycle record. On the big highway. And for this I will create a new sensational bicycle that will outshine all other two-wheelers (laughs).

Mister Professor, let me thank you on behalf of the editors and readers for this interview. It was an honor and pleasure for me personally to communicate with you.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and congratulate you personally on your command of German so well. Let your readers know that Professor Colani welcomes the opportunity to embrace the Russians. I adore your country, which has the highest, deepest and most magnificent culture. Impressed by the performances of your ballerinas, I created models of dancers from plaster. I'll have to show you their photos sometime... I'm a huge fan of Russia. Say hello to your readers and the entire editorial staff for me. Thank you! (speaks Russian).

Dossier

Luigi Colani

German conceptual designer, founder of industrial bio-design. Created dozens of experimental concepts for ThyssenKrupp, Boeing, RosenThal, Rockwell International, Villeroy&Boch and other industrial giants. In 1954, Colani was awarded the Golden Rose at the Geneva Motor Show for the exterior design of the Fiat 1100, and in 1972 he developed the design of the Formula 1 car Eifelland Type 21. Before and after that he created concept cars for Porsche, Mazda, Mercedes- Benz, Ferrari, Ford, as well as their own models under the Colani brand, some of which were produced in small series.

08/06/2013 at 20:08

On August 2, the legendary industrial and automotive conceptual designer Luigi Colani celebrated his 85th birthday. In honor of his birthday, we remembered the most brilliant concept cars developed by the eminent German with an Italian surname.

Colani GT

The first attempts at the automotive industry in 1960 by the still promising designer brought stunning success to Colani. The factory Beetle, transformed with a few body curves into an attractive roadster, even went into a limited edition kit car from VW, which is extremely rare among concept cars.

BMW 700

Luigi’s second professional job in the automotive field was the transformation of the popular, modest BMW 700 into a fast, streamlined sports car equipped with a plastic monocoque body. The car, unfortunately, did not go into production, beginning to establish Colani’s reputation as the creator of an exceptionally alternative future of automotive production.

Colani Le Mans Prototype

Created on the basis of the Lamborghini Miura, the concept of a sports car suitable for Le Mans racing was never suitable for rallying due to an unfortunate miscalculation of the creator. Despite the fact that the design of the car is still amazing, there was simply no room for an engine. But this did not stop Colani from loudly declaring himself as one of the innovators of automotive design.

Colani C112

The Mercedes-Benz C111-I concept coupe made a splash with its futuristic design in 1969, but it was no match for the company's proposed concept a year later, created by Colani on the same basis. The Colani C112 not only looks too innovative even for our days, but in 1970 it had a drag coefficient half that of the best sports cars of that time.

Eifelland Type 21

The already popular car designer's fascination with high speeds led to an order for a racing car from the Formula 1 team Eifelland Caravans. The original body not only distinguished the car from among similar competitor cars, but also allowed it to show very good results in 1972 - two tenths of places in Monaco and Brands Hatch.

Volkswagen Turbo Polo

The conversion of a modest VW city car established Luigi as a master of aerodynamics - thanks to its unique and simply superbly executed design, this Polo broke many speed records, virtually only due to its streamlined body.

BMW M2

Colano lost the battle of two concept sports cars developed under a BMW tender to participate in Le Mans to the no less legendary Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro, whose version, known as the BMW M1, went into limited production.

Colani 2CV

It's hard to believe that the legendary small car of the past - the Citroen 2CV - was turned into the prototype of this compact city car. Despite the basic technical stuffing, the streamlined car set an efficiency record of 1.7 liters per hundred kilometers.

Lada Gorbi

Kolani also worked on Soviet cars, and while working on the export Zhiguli, the legendary designer was clearly inspired by the USSR's lunar program. As a result, the Niva turned out to be a wonderful all-terrain vehicle, capable of delivering two hundred kilometers per hour with the same number of horses.

Colani Lotec Testa d'Oro

This car, which has rubbed shoulders with Ferrari designers, is a joint project between Colani and the iconic engineer Lotterschmid. Based on the old Testarossa, the concept exceeded 350 kilometers per hour on Lake Bonneville, even though the pilot got cold feet and used a braking parachute.

Colani Corvette

The legendary Chevrolet model, having passed through Colani's workshop, not only acquired a futuristic appearance, retaining many elements characteristic of American design. Unique aerodynamic properties allowed this car, assembled in 1989, to set one of the speed records at Bonneville.

Colani Horch Mega-Roadster

Luigi's conversion of August Horch's pre-war roadster, although it began to resemble the car of some superhero from a comic book, was still recognizable in its design as the legendary base car. After processing, it acquired ideal aerodynamic properties and simply bewitching beauty.

Colani Shanghai

A solid small city car inspired by the dynamic economic development of China, where Kolani's biotech projects are very popular. The slightly retrofuturistic model, which refers to the design of the late eighties, was never taken into production by any Chinese company - they still continue to copy successful brands of Western manufacturers.

Colani Spitzer-Silo Truck

And this is what the real heavy-duty truck should look like, according to Colani. Created on the basis of the Mercedes-Benz Actros model for the anniversary of the tank manufacturer, the concept turned out to be so beautiful that people started talking about the brilliant German designer with renewed vigor.

Colani Street-Ray

One of Colani's latest concepts could very well gain fame as an excellent small racing roadster - the extremely light car held the road perfectly thanks to its unique design, boasting inimitable aerodynamic properties. But, like everything unique, Street-Ray did not make it into mass production.

Oleg Kirilyuk Motorist

In the automotive world, designer and designer Luigi Colani has a mixed reputation. On the one hand, the master creates cars that will not appeal to the broad mass of drivers. On the other hand, his creations have repeatedly proven their high efficiency on the track and absolute superiority in terms of aerodynamics.

Colani Stingray

There is an exhibition Center Pompidou in Paris. In it you can find this curious car created by Colani - the Colani Stingray. The car is a permanent guest at the exhibition. It is notable for its complete absence of anti-wings. The car's body alone generates two tons of downforce at maximum speed. Theoretically, this is enough to ride on the ceiling. The car was first shown in 1991.

Colani Castrol New RS

The car was born in 1978, although the master of aerodynamics began working on it back in 1967. Needless to say, the car was twice ahead of its time? The prototype combined high downforce and an incredibly low drag coefficient Cx - 0.24.

Colani Street-Ray

In this car, all the designer’s efforts were aimed at improving handling in every possible way. Interestingly, the Colani Street-Ray has a front axle that is twice as wide as the rear. The car has advanced aerodynamics, an extremely low center of mass and high handling. All this contributes to the fastest possible cornering.

Colani Mega-Roadster Horch

Colani was from Germany and had a very hard time with the loss of some famous German car brands, such as Horch. This is exactly what, according to the designer, the car of this company could have looked like if it had returned to the market at the end of the last century. The prototype was constructed in 1996.

Colani L'Aiglon

In this prototype, Colani was once again able to combine retro and biodesign. The long white roadster was shown to the public in 1976 at the Geneva Motor Show. A lot of the sample's components were borrowed from the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, including the engine and front axle.

Colani Ferrari Testa d'Oro

This car combined enormous power and streamlined shapes. The basis for the model was the Ferrari Testarossa, whose engine was equipped with a couple of turbines, resulting in an increase in horsepower to 750. In 1991, accelerating to 351 km/h, the car became the fastest at that time.

Colani Corvette Charisma

Like the previous car on this list, this model was created to set a new speed record. Unfortunately, he was never able to achieve success. At one time, a lot was written about the car in the press, although it did not live up to the hopes of its creators.

Colani C112

It was in this form that the master saw the further development of the ideas that were put into the very controversial Mercedes C111 car. However, the guys from Mercedes did not take Colani’s work seriously, but in vain. The sample was created in 1970.

Colani Le Mans

Another master's car from 1970. The machine consisted of two parts. The cabin was located in the front part, and the engine was located in the rear part. The prototype turned out to be unusable, despite the fact that the author had big plans for it.

Colani Mazda Le Mans

As the name suggests, another Colani prototype for Le Mans. Not as radical as his earlier ones. The model was created in 1983, many years before the Japanese car manufacturer finally decided to go to the most famous race in the world. The squat car was supposed to be equipped with an engine with a power of 1400 hp, which would allow it to reach a speed of 380 km/h.

Colani Volkswagen Prototype

The car appeared as a result of the “creative flight” of Colani’s thoughts. This is exactly how he imagined the spiritual successor to the Volkswagen Beetle. The car was shown in 1977, but the eminent manufacturer was not interested in it.

Colani BMW 320i Turbo

From time to time, the master took on the task of modifying the bodies of already finished cars to order. Here is one example of his work. This car was improved for the DRM 1977 racing season. But the pilot of this beauty was unable to show any significant results.

Colani Utah 8

The Colani Utah 8 is also known as the BMW 007, largely due to the fact that it received a 1-liter engine with a power of 160 hp. The car was rear-wheel drive, and the axle for it was borrowed from Lotus 7. The height of the sample does not exceed 90 cm, and its curb weight does not exceed 550 kg.

Colani BMW M2

The squat Colani BMW M2 was designed by Colani for racing driver and engineer Jean Rondeau. Rondo was required to install a more powerful engine in the car, but the master thought the idea was too bold to be realized.

Colani Lada Gorbi

It is quite difficult to recognize the domestic Niva in this wild buggy, but this is exactly it. The car was created in 1987 and dedicated to Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. By the way, I accelerated to 200 km/h without any problems.

Colani Spitzer-Silo

Kolani tanker truck with excellent streamlining and high aerodynamic performance. It was created in 2002. In addition to its strange design, the car stood out for its record-breaking efficiency for its class. Actual fuel consumption in the combined cycle was 20.9 liters per 100 kilometers.

Colani SuperTruck

An unusual aerodynamic truck designed by Colani back in 2006. The machine was developed with the support of Siemens. Access to the cabin was through the bow of the car, and the front cargo trolley turned separately.