Lancia Kayak by Bertone: forgotten concept (1995)
Posted on 07-08-2015 at 21:01 by Dizono – 25 Comments”
Not only brands build conceptcars, also designhuizen show every now and then to see where they already were good at. In the mid – ’90s designs Bertone this beautiful Lancia, and this time was not one instance.
The ’90s are not the best years for Bertone. There are in this decade, no major cars designed by Italians. No cars of the calibre Citroen BX and XM, Lancia Stratos or Alfa Romeo Giulia GT. No, only the design and production of the Fiat Punto Cabrio and the homeless Opel Astra. In 1994, they are trying with the Karisma, a quadruple conceptcat on the basis of Porsche engineering, another to show what they are worth, but that is not in the least. The car is downright ugly.
Many people have faith in Bertone, therefore, all are lost, when there at the Geneva motor show of 1995, suddenly, the Lancia Kayak was. Under the skin was the car like a Kappa, which is a 2.0 five cylinder turbo with 220 hp as topmotorisering had. Incidentally, we suspect that the Kayak the 3.0 V6 24V with 204 hp under the hood, which fits better with the concept of a luxurious reiswagen that the ’50s had to revive. In those years made Lancia headlines with advanced technology and beautifully designed cars like the Aurelia and the Flaminia.
Since Lancia itself is not closely involved with the development of the Kayak, will make it to production, unfortunately, never come. Fortunately there is Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, and that is apparently the way of Bertone’s Lancia. At the Turin Motor Show of 1996, and shines the Kayak again on the state of Bertone, but this time it is the Kayak, a fully functional prototype. Not that there is a lot of work has been put into the development of the interior, this is almost 1-on-1 from the Lancia Kappa Coupe. Briefly, there is in the press the hope that there may still be a small-scale production is planned, but it should not be.
The beginning of the end
The same year, shows two men, also the Opel Slalom, also a most successful concept car. Nonetheless, the years of the Italian designhuizen counted. Some are adopted, others die a quiet death. So also Bertone, which is slightly more than a year ago after a long illness went bankrupt.
Gallery: Lancia Kayak Concept 1995
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