Solved: Allemano's № 881 - 1984 ItalDesign 001 concept

[Allemano]

Easy, eh?

As usual one point for the right answer.


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[Allemano]

up!

[CrazyAutopuzzler]

well, it´s very similar to the Ford Maya, maybe it´s an early prototype?

[Allemano]

well, it´s very similar to the Ford Maya, maybe it´s an early prototype?

Not exactly.

[del78]

One of Lotus concept?

[Allemano]

One of Lotus concept?

No.

[del78]

So is it a Ford of some sort?

[Allemano]

So is it a Ford of some sort?

I know this is a tricky puzzle, but it's not a Ford either.

[thewarlord]

Italdesign Etna mock-up?

[Allemano]

Italdesign Etna mock-up?

No.
I was afraid you would solve it within a minute...

It's an ItalDesign and it's easy to see design-wise Etna related, but this is another car with another engine.

[thewarlord]

Italdesign Maya with Ford engine mock-up, should be it!;-)

[Allemano]

Italdesign Maya with Ford engine mock-up, should be it!;-)

I already said no to that a few posts before.

[thewarlord]

Sorry...;-) Something to do with Maya II or GR34 Ford?

[Allemano]

Sorry...;-) Something to do with Maya II or GR34 Ford?

It's not a Ford or Ford-powered.

[thewarlord]

I give up!;-) I am amazed Giugiaro tried to sell the same basic design to Ford, Lotus and still some other...!;-)

[Allemano]

Yes I didn't know it either before. My source has a quite exact description of details of this car. Where it was shown and when for example. About the engine it's a bit vague, the manufacturer is mentioned and how many cylinders the engine has.

Possibly it later became the Maya but at that time it had a different (quite plain!) name and didn't have a Ford V6 under the hood...

[thewarlord]

Lock it for me. I've got it it's from Car December 1984. Just a few minutes for me to read about it. Certainly, your picture is there.

[thewarlord]

Should be 'Italdesign mass market targa', before the project was labelled under Ford. Or GG 686, if one reads the plate in the nose of it.

[Allemano]

Should be 'Italdesign mass market targa', before the project was labelled under Ford. Or GG 686, if one reads the plate in the nose of it.

Still not the name I'm waiting for. The plate says not GG 686, but GG 6B6 if I'm not mistaken. BTW: the name of the car/project is written where the Maya concept wears its small Stars'n'Stripes banner. (Clearly to identify on the unveiled picture)

The source I'm talking about dates from Nov. 1984, while the Maya debuted according to Gloor at the same time.
Though a bit confusing, I guess it can't be the predecessor of the Maya, then... (unless the pic was taken long before, but I doubt that).
The car was presented at the Lingotto in Turin.

Have a last try thewarlord! Still LOCKED!

[thewarlord]

I have not the CAR Magazine from December 1984 at hand now, but that was my source. Where stars&stripes would be at Maya, it was reading 001, if I am not wrong. But there was no mention to any manufacturer there -even if the article shows the car in bare metal already, it still wasn't a Ford. But it doesn't say it is any other thing, either. Same for the identity of the engine. It clearly describes the USA V6 from Ford, but doesn't say it. By December 1984 the car was searching for a manufacturer to be produced as a 'high numbers' sales sportscar with the performance figures of a Jalpa or 308. But, again, I have no clue which manufacturer before Ford might have been seriously interested in purchasing 'it'. So, unlock it, please!;-)

[Allemano]

Okay... I give you one point for ID-ing "001".

As my source is rather vague about the engine I'd like to reveal it. AMS 11/14 1984 reports the car has (contrary to thoroughbred Lotus Etna) one of these contemporary various stock GM V6 engines.

The unveiled picture:

[Carnut]

Actually your puzzle is just a 1:1 polystyrene mock-up, so I doubt very much whether it had any engine at all.  

This car was originally a Ford project but when the mock-up was presented to them along with the costings for setting up production they got cold feet and pulled the plug.  Giuigaro and Mantovani thought it such a good design though that they decided to press ahead anyway and make a fully-working prototype using the Ford V6 for which the car had been designed for Ford, with the idea that it could be marketed as a ready-made mass market mid-engine sports car to anyone who was interested.

Then when Ford saw the working prototype they liked it so much that they took the project back on again and ordered 2 further proposals, a front-engine and a longitudinal mid-engine one (the original Maya had had a transverse mid-engine).  Unfortunately once they were ready they decided against proceeding with it after all so the whole project ended up being wasted.

I thought it was always the Ford Maya but only became '001' after Ford dropped it so ItalDesign thought they couldn't use the name, although the Maya name was used for the working prototype when it was displayed in Turin shortly afterwards.  Perhaps it was during the short time that it was 001 that ItalDesign said it would have a GM V6 because they thought it would probably be a bit cheeky to ask Ford for engines if it was one of their own discarded projects, and they maybe wanted to distance themselves from Ford a bit..

Below is the full story of the first Maya working prototype along with a couple of pictures of it; apart from the badge, wheels and side window aft of the doors it is identical to the mock-up; although the front air intake looks more open on the prototype it is just the same but is hard to make out properly on the mock-up.

In view of all this I would have said crazyautopuzzler deserves a point as really he got it right; it was the first Maya proposal before it became 001..

[Allemano]

Thanks for that extra info!

It's always the same: the best source beats the second best source.

(the very dark glasshouse let me doubt for a while that it's a real roadgoing car...)