Delgiata Avarante—Plug-in Sport Sedan

 
This is the newest member of the Deligata car company—my mythical manufacturer's entry in the burgeoning luxury electric 4-seat compact 5-door segment.

The "face" of Delgiata will consist of a mailslot upper grille with a brushed aluminum" pencil mustache" above with D-E-L-G-I-A-T-A letterspaced in chrome attached to it, teardrop headlights, and ample underbumper air intakes for the regenerative brakes and aero management. 

Delgiata is the first to retro the '80s with this simplistic and efficient aero-front end design, today rendered in carbon fiber. The monocoque is a mixture of carbon fiber, aluminum, and tailored high-strength steel for lightness.The brushed aluminum side cowl trim houses the access hatch for the plug-in charging outlet, proximity sensors for the side radar accident avoidance software and retracts at speed in conjunction with the aero- and HVAC-systems for ventilation. Simple clean-sided styling with careful cutline management, electronic rear coach doors, and full length panoramic glass roof are other Delgiata hallmarks. 

• Rear wheel drive-based platforms include electronic all wheel drive.
• Avarante is derived from "avant" and "variant." 
• Delgiate was "founded" ca 1967. I was ten years old.
• The company logo is a stylized spider. One of the earliest cars I drew in the beginning was the Delgiate Spider, a sports car. The logo is rendered in brushed aluminum with bright red carbonfiber inlays
• Chop began as a current generation Mercedes C Class sedan to get the proper rear wheel drive proportions to begin with.

Bring Back the Big Lincoln! 2015 MkTC

Using today's Lincoln design language, why aren't they fielding a large, rear-wheel drive luxury sedan? All of their cues work quite well in a larger, more elegant manner. The roof could be a large powered sunroof like the smaller MKZ, but perhaps ending in a 1950s overhang instead of lying flat over the backlight. The backlight could also be programmed to lower for ventilation, bringing back memories of the late Fifties Marks and the Sixties Breezeways. Slim C pillar opera windows are beautifully sculptured with 24kt gold Lincoln Star logos embedded in them. This rear-wheel drive based platform offers electronically controlled all-wheel drive, too.

2010 Mercury Hybrid Project

Back in early 2010 I was "desperately" trying to save Mercury in the only way I could: with renderings. It was my idea that Mercury could become FoMoCo's high-tech, hybrid division. Ford would be the mainstay bread-and-butter cars, the volume sellers, in a position it has held for more than 100 years. Mercury would be a step-up in price and features, but instead of just "fancy" upholostery, the drivetrains would have been exclusively hybrid and electric. The styling, inside and out, would be more contemporary and high-tech than Ford's more traditional looks. Lincoln would have been pushed further upscale, ensuring Ford's presence in the full luxury market. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Mercury was dead not long afterwards. In all, I believe I created more than 40 Mercurys in about 2 years of trying to bring the marque back to relevancy. 

My first car was a '69 Comet sport coupe, the bottom-of-the-line pillarless coupe. It was nicely optioned though with 302 V8, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and a power trunk opener. I'm not sure how many low-line Comets were equipped like that.

The renderings:

Subcompact "B" market Comet sports hatch.

 Compact-sized Medalist sedan. "Medalist" was last used in the mid '50s by Mercury.

Slightly larger Marin sedan, a prototype to replace the then-current Milan, but...

 

... then I created this new Milan 4-door "coupe" which I preferred.

Sitting at the top of the Mercury heap would have been this Cyclone sedan, a full size hybrid sedan with supercar levels of power.

Moving to crossovers, this Villager would have anchored the compact segment ...

... and the Mountaineer would have elevated their top-shelf SUV to Range Rover levels of capability at Land Rover prices.

Audi Revisited

Until I can carve out a night to finish several chops I've started, how about some cool Audis from my past... Above, the first generation TT coupe reimagined with a larger glass area, smoothed contours and detailing and more ground clearance for true snow- and off-road capabilities. The better for those quick trips to Gstaad in the winter.

One of my early chops, but still one of my favorites, a mythical Bi-Turbo V12 hybrid mid-engined super saloon.

My futuristic third generation TT e/Tron, based on a recent concept car from Audi.

Audi really ought to have a large coupe to compete with the S Class coupe (CL). Above is my large 2-door A8L-c.

The Black Forest edition Avant. I will keep trying to get today's manufacturers to use micro-veneers until my Photoshop is taken away from me, lol.

Another of my very early chops, this Audi A6C was inspired by the large Italian luxury coupes of the seventies, such as the Fiat 130 and Lancia Gamma.

Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing Longroof

Looking through my earlier work, I realized I haven't yet posted this mid 1950s Mercedes Benz 300 Gullwing Tourer on this blog. I chopped this up in 2007 or so. All the cool people that collect station wagons these days refer to them as "Longroofs" and that's certainly true of my version. I don't believe this change would have added too much weight to the original coupe and with that rear hatch and additional loading space, might have made this incredible sports car just a bit more useful for Grand Touring.

The New Gullwing 

My primary reason for modifying the current SLS, the newest Gullwing, was to change the window graphic. The new one has a solid B/C pillar instead of having rear quarter windows as the original. I just don't think the car looks right without them. I'm sure the blank quarters add torsional rigidity, but I'm also certain that Mercedes/AMG engineers are brilliant enough to overcome any loss with added windows. Above, my "South Beach" edition is metallic gold with additional strakes and silver trim. You just can't be "bling" enough for South Beach! Below, additional work was done to shorten the very long hood. I wanted this Gullwing to be a hybrid, and to be as lightweight as possible to I changed the proportions accordingly. I still think it's a beautiful car and could be the Hybrid to end all Hybrids if produced.

Corvette Stingray split-window

The Split-Window is Back! For my take on the new C7 Corvette Stingray I went backwards in time a bit. To begin with I restored its traditional four round taillights. I gave it a much more traditional greenhouse rather than the new car's first time and rather forced rear quarter windows. I also added a thin central paint-colored spine to the hatchglass, following the existing indented roof panel. I also edited the side vents so they'd fit better with the last several generations. Detail changes include moving the new Stingray logo to the B pillar and flattened out the new "winged" crossed flags. That newest touch just smacks of the Firebird's past logos an odd touch with the new car's Camaro-like taillights.I don't think the 'Vette needs to have any "Chevrolet" cues other than perhaps similar LED lighting details, road wheels, steering wheel and Sat/Navs.

Corvette Stingray; Alternate Styling B

For my second take on the C7, I decided to keep the idea of a rear quarter window, but I reshaped it into a much simpler graphic. By bringing this new side window to a point, I referenced the Corvette supercar prototype from the 1970s, the mid-engined 4-Rotor.At the back  I created a set of aluminum-ringed quad circular taillight and replaced the new "V" crossed flags emblem with a "proper" set of flags from '72 'Vette. I cut down on the visual height of the bodysides by using another '70s styling trick: Argent colored rocker panels.The cool new Stingray logo has been moved to the B pillar when it's noticeable every time you open the door. Then in a nod to Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell, I gave Welburn's oversized (and now body-colored) side vents dual chrome strakes. It's a minor point, but I made the glass roof and rear window graphic read as one large tinted panel by glazing over the "baskethandle" instead of painting it body color. I think it unifies and simplies the C7's shapes and details.

Twin-Turbo V6 Corvette SL: Shorter & Lighter

I would not be surprised to see the Corvette spun off to become its own make one of these days. Then I think the Corvette brand will expand and diversify. This chop renders the smallest, lightest, 'Vette, with a twin-turbo V6. Compared with the new Stingray, I've shortened the wheelbase both in front of the passenger compartment and behind it. The resulting shorter hood reflects the V6-only drivetrain; the weight loss could be as much as 300-350 lbs compared with the V8 Stingray. Lighter weight and a completely balanced platform means massive handling capabilities. Optional carbon fiber body pieces are aimed at cutting weight even further for competitions. At the top of the Corvette lineup could be a mid-engined supercar and even a Panamera competitor. Yes, perhaps a 4 door Corvette.

Corvette Corsa: Panamera Competitor

The new Corvette Stingray is proving to be a fun car to chop. I've made a couple of shorter V6 versions, and here is the larger version with four doors. I gave it the name of Corsa in honor of the Corvair's uplevel trim in '65 and '66. Corvette Corsa has a nice ring to it, too. I really wasn't sure if this extension was going to work, it could so easily have turned into a freak show, lol, but I think I've pulled it off. I actually love the way this car looks. The windows are a bit taller, as is the roof, to balance the rest of the car and I can just imagine slinking into the rear bucket seats and having my driver bring me to town.

Please check out the Autoextremist.com this week. His On the Table page is featuring many of my cars this week. As always, a huge thanks to Peter DeLorenzo for his kind words and the awesome audience he allows me to tap into.

Earliest Chops: Crude, Outside-the-Box

Some of my earliest digitally-modified cars. The technique! Or lack of it! These date to the 2005-07 era. Many were done in less than an hour. I was participating nightly in Autoweek's Combustion Chamber, an online forum. Someone would ask "what if" about a various cars and sometimes I'd do a quick chop and post it as fast as I could. Still, I like looking back at these.

International Harvester Travelall "Sedan Pickup." Behold my suicide door 4 door pickup with wraparound glass and an immense rear seat at the expense of a very short pickup box. Answers a question no one has ever asked. 2007-ish.

Exaggerated stab at a Toyota hybrid sedan, ca 2005-06. Interestingly, spy shots of the next '14 Corolla have some similarities with this futurist rendering.

Done in 2006 or 2007 this was my attempt to show GM that, yes, Saab's DNA could be made to work with a crossover... Body modified from some European GM crossover from back then.

This Wildcat was done just a few days after the first Enclave prototype pics were released, 2006 or '07? It was to be a tall, AWD, Enclave based sedan with a touch of Thirties Buick trunkback sedans in the rear.

I'm pretty sure this is Chop #1. It's an Escalade sedan. I was very interested in seeing what a really tall, truck-based sedan would look like. To me, the Escalade was a station wagon, and thus should have sedan and coupe variants. I had used Photoshop professionally for my book designs and production, color-correcting images, fading, feathering, collages, etc, but had never tried to modify a photograph into something entirely different. I think I might revisit this concept with the newest Escalade one of these days.

A quick attempt to turn a European Ford concept car, the Iosis if I remember correctly, into a domestic Lincoln sedan. I used the then-current Lincoln grille cues in a larger/wider form. I still like this front end. The rest of the car was pulled and made taller. I used the tall, slim C-pillar windows that classic Town Cars sported. 2007-ish.