Since the Jet Age competition is over, I’d like to get some feedback on the car I submitted, the 1970 Cascella Limulo.
The only direct feedback I’ve had was in the non-finalist portion of the judging video, with an anonymous voter comment stating “the devil’s in the details,” and I certainly felt that while working on it. I started with large vent fixtures covering most of the rear of the car, and decided to play with the idea of bodywork passing right through the body and exiting out the rear in a smooth, fluid way. This was not something I particularly had the skills for, but I did my best.
You could say the car is a bit plain, but a lot of concept cars of the era were pretty sparse of details, focusing instead on overall form and bold features. I tried a lot of different things that I ultimately scrapped, deciding in the end to aim for balanced, proportional look, emphasizing the different geometric features: ovals inscribed in rectangles, intersecting lines, tapered wedge shapes. The dark glass especially was meant to contrast the green body in a bold, geometric way. But if I were to do it again, I’m sure it would have resulted in something completely different.
The “horseshoe crab” idea came near the end, after realizing the greenhouse looked a bit like a helmet or something. I leaned into it, and it’s probably the aspect of the car I’m happiest with, though I see areas I would improve.
Let me know which parts you think work best, which you think are less successful, and how you might approach a design like this.
1970 Cascella Limulo:
"Cascella unveiled the Limulo concept car at the 1970 Turin Auto Show. The design—a small, wedge-shaped coupé—was penned by Lino Biavati at Carrozzeria Fughelli, and was powered by a V8 engine mounted longitudinally in a mid-engine configuration. The name Limulo is Italian for horseshoe crab, a creature whose odd shape is reflected in the greenhouse of the car. The front and rear of the Limulo feature deep curves that carve through the body, which Biavati attributes both to the influence of nature in his work, and to aerodynamics. In the center of the rear opening, two exhaust pipes are surrounded by an aluminum heatsink, though its functionality is dubious.
At a time when other Italian designers were exploring the crisp, pure forms and “folded paper” aesthetics associated with wedge styling, the Limulo’s organic features were unusual. According to Biavati, some of the inspiration came from his time working with American manufacturers, including the decision to use fiberglass for the body."
1970 Cascella Limulo (more photos)
