For that special moment when your seeking the perfect cross between a car, and a motorcycle, Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A., a design and engineering company based in Moncalieri, Italy has the answer for you with this contraption shown here, the 1986 Volkswagen Machimoto by ItalDesign. The ItalDesign company is one of the most prominent names in the concept car, and prototype space, and the foundation of this company began in 1968 with the 1968 introduction of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by italian automotive designer, and co-founder of ItalDesign, Giorgetto Giugiaro and engineer, and co-founder of ItalDesign, Aldo Mantovani. The ItalDesign company has created a large number of unique and innovative concept cars throughout their lifetime, but the goal behind the Machimoto was to perfectly blend the stability of a traditional automobile, with the open-air sensation of a motorcycle. The engineers and designers worked with the Volkswagen Golf platform and mechanics in order to create something unlike anything that has ever been seen before. The Machimoto offers 6 seats that can transform to become up to 9, a steering wheel that is the perfect synthesis between car and bike, and a Golf GTI 16 v 1781 cc 4-cylinder engine that produces around 139hp. This unique, low-slung, topless speedster also featured unusual rear wheel skirts, and ‘saddle seating’ instead of regular seats, allowing for the driver and passengers to experience the ride as if they were driving on a motorcycle. The name, Machimoto derives from MACHIna (car in Italian) and MOTOciclo (motorcycle), and the concept first ever arrived at the Turin Motor Show in 1986, where it seemingly appeared like a UFO on the show stand, considering nothing else on this planet had appeared similarly to it at the time.
How many made? 1
Engine: 781cc, in line 4-cylinder, 16 valves DOHC, 139 bhp from VW Golf GTI
Debut: 1986 Turin Motor Show
Top Speed: n/a
0-60: n/a
Photo credit: @archivioprototipi (archivioprototipi.it), ItalDesign
Research: @rarecarsonly