DIVISION IN DESIGN

It is not unusual that design departments in large automotive groups compete against each other for design supremacy.

Ford Motor did it in the early 90s with a proposal for the Jaguar XJ-S replacement, which was pitched against proposals from Ghia and Jaguar.

Jaguar X100 proposals: Ford - Ghia - Jaguar

Thankfully, Jaguar won that contest.

However, in Italy in 1980, a very unusual competition erupted between Alfa Romeo and FIAT. At the time, government-owned Alfa Romeo was virtually broke, but desperately needed a new compact sedan.

Alfa Romeo’s chief engineer Fillipo Surace worked closely with Alfa Romeo Centro Stile on Project 156. The designs were submitted by Design Chief Ermano Cressoni, although Alberto Bertelli was the leading influence on the rather brutal, high tail designs.

Surace’s concept was a modular platform, off which Alfa Romeo could produce a range of rear wheel drive models.

In 1981, after sign-off had been received for a new 6-speed manual and tooling for the bodies, the Italian government got cold feet and withdrew all funding for the Tipo 156.

P156 final clay (top); P156 prototipo (top second)
164 Final production model

FIAT, whom some say is second only to the Vatican in importance in Italy, immediately proposed to the government that Alfa Romeo should work with the larger company, and integrate the Type Four concept (Saab 9000/Fiat Chroma/Lancia Thema) into a new sedan.

Surace began work with Lancia’s Sergio Camuffo, to accommodate Lancia’s front engine/front wheel drive transaxle.

By then Cressoni’s P156 prototype bodies had already been produced, so the engineers used the 156 mules as road-going prototypes.

Alfa Romeo Centro Stile were forced to terminate work on P156, as FIAT had by then chosen Pininfarina’s Enrico Fumia’s design proposal for the new car, which would become the Alfa Romeo 164.

Remember, at this stage the two were still separate, but closely-related companies.

However, during Fumia’s (P164) work for Alfa Romeo, he also imagined two additional models, a coupe and convertible.

Both went from design sketches right through to full-size models, and they were stunning.

Sadly, they never made it into production.

Neither did an Alfa Romeo 164 wagon, which was mooted at the same time.

Pinifarina created a full-size model, designed by Fumia, which beautifully integrated the 164 themes.

Another wagon concept was developed to full size, utilizing a tailgate from the then current Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable, but compared to Fumio’s proposal it was dead ugly.

Alfa Romeo, owned by the Italian government between 1932 and 1986, decided to allow FIAT to acquire the company, to save further, continual drain on the public purse.

From that time, all new Alfa Romeo cars shared FIAT platforms and powertrains and became FWD across the board.

That is, until the appearance of the 8C Competizione (2007) and the 4C (2013) which were RWD.

The latest Alfa Romeo Giulia (Tipo 952) is the return to a rear wheel drive sedan, with outstanding chassis dynamics.

TYPE R, for RIDICULOUS!

Honda’s latest racy baby may be a design disaster, with more folds, creases, curves, scallops and flutes than you’ve ever seen on an entire range of cars, but make no mistake, the 2018 Type R is definitely the business.

Clearly 250 Australians agree, because that’s the number of orders which Honda dealers have in hand, with the car sight unseen until now.

Honda Australia says it has received 5000 ‘expressions of interest’.

That could make this car Honda’s most successful-ever hot hatch. In Australia, at least.

The previous version sold around 2200 cars over four years, with 719 being sold the first year.

So, can it be that good? Well, if the oversized rear wing really works, and isn’t just a bit of tacked-on fibreglass flim-flam, then the Type is a serious performance car.

Note the four-pot Brembo brakes, and the THREE exhaust pipes!

However, the powertrain spec is, in a word, unspectacular.

A 2.0L turbo four, with a six-speed manual, helical limited-slip differential and the ‘must-have’ black wheels. It's just the way those clever engineers combine their talents.

However, the Type R delivers on a very convincing power play, holding the lap record for a FWD hot hatch around the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife.

The Honda Civic Type R probably only has one competitor in Australia, and that’s the potent Ford Focus RS, which perhaps unsurprisingly has the identical pricetag – AUD$50,000+.

The interior is the usual boy-racer black, with red highlights and stitching, but the race-bred bucket seats are superb. You get the full complement of 'driver aids' tech equipment, plus a great sound system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. The steering wheel, being the first thing you touch when you get in, simply invites enjoyment.

Despite having much more performance potential than you could ever enjoy in the land of secret speed cameras and patrolling plods, the Type R is a very endearing machine. 

After firing up, and selecting ‘Comfort’ mode I powered into the first few corners, waiting to see what happens.

What happens is; whatever you want. The Type R will dawdle along in traffic, or give you a thrill a minute ride on the right back roads. In particular, the clutch action is sweet. Excellent engagement and take-up. As a performance package, Type R is a beautifully-sorted and well-resolved combination of everything good that ever graced Honda’s Wako and Motegi test tracks.

This is what I remember about the first Honda performance cars I drove, and of course, my own particular favourite the Honda S2000 sports car.

Those cars were engineering-led masterpieces. Sweet little engines, slick transmissions, outstanding handling and beautifully-weighted steering just inviting you to let loose.

Yes, the Type R is ridiculous, but in a good way. I truly can imagine 5000 of these little buzz bombs finding owners Down Under – and more in the rest of the world where it’s sold.

MASERATI GHIBLI - DRIVING THE WIND

‘GHIBLI’ is a searing hot wind which blows off the Saharan Desert; the Maserati Ghibli is also a Grand Touring Sedan, which is the company’s junior sports sedan, sitting with the flagship Quattroporte.

Ghibli has helped Maserati grow its overall global sales volumes, but it’s still essentially a niche car, in the luxury executive sector.

Built on a shortened Quattroporte platform, but powered by the turbocharged V6 engine, which boasts family bloodlines to Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, it’s competent, but a rather heavy competitor in the sector.

At 1860kg, the Ghibli is quite a lump, and quite frankly on the road, it feels like it.

The Jaguar XF is 60kg lighter; and the XE lighter still, thanks to lots of aluminium and carbon fibre in Jaguar’s list of build materials.

The reality is that both the British sedans have a lithe, lightweight feel on the road, and swapping from car to car, you can definitely notice that the Italian sedan has been hitting the pasta. Despite revisions for the 2018MY that include more power, and a lower Cd number, the Ghibli feels strangely old-fashioned – especially when compared to the latest Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

The exterior design by Maserati Centro Stile under the direction of Marco Tencone is a stylish reduction in visual appearance from the big brother Quattroporte. It looks a bit ‘thick in the flanks’ and the interior package is not as roomy as exterior dimensions suggest, but it wouldn’t be the first Italian sedan to compromise space for beauty.

On the road the performance is excellent thanks to an extra 20bhp, and at top speeds, the reduction in the drag co-efficient plays its part – although I’m not sure I reached anywhere near the speed that a lower Cd might have some effect.

Like its Jaguar competitors the Ghibli uses an 8-speed ZF automatic, but I guess the real attraction is that the V6 engine has such loosely-linked connections to the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo families.

The engine shares its block with the others, although cylinder head design differs, but the engine has input from Ferrari engineers and, so blanketed by Italian confusion, it’s a triumph of Italian engine design.

Italy’s sporting sedans have never been short on performance, vitality, response nor breeding – and the Ghibli is no different.

Inside the Maserati, the trim on this car was undeniably 'bright', and the finish was very good, but not excellent. The cabin and dash design showed signs of 'bits' being added in after the design was finalised.

I liked my drive in the Ghibli, but I’m afraid it wasn’t a special experience. I like the lightweight Jaguar XE-XF twins much better, and although both brands have seen their Australian sedan sales (YTD October) fall by around 40%, I think it is Maserati which needs to consider some changes to keep Ghibli competitive in this sector.

Maserati has only sold 177 Ghiblis so far this year in Australia, against 220 Jaguar XF and 740 XEs, so there’s some catching up to do.

However, I’d expect the Australian Maserati importer to say it’s satisfied with the numbers, because it’s not chasing volume, but rather, more discerning owners.

Haven’t I heard that sentiment expressed many times over the last 40 years?

NUBIRA - FROM BIRTH TO LACETTI

In 1995 I was invited to Seoul, South Korea, by the VP of Product Development for Daewoo Motor, Ing. Dr. Ulrich Bez - whom Daewoo Group Chairman, Kim Woo Choong, had poached from Porsche AG, to develop four brand new cars.

With what are now known to have be very dubious financing and loan arrangements, Kim Woo Choong had acquired GM’s majority interest in Daewoo in 1983, in order to create an independent Daewoo Motor.

In addition Kim Woo Choong also built a huge corporate empire, called Daewoo Group, which included civil engineering, ship-building, construction machinery, computers and electronics. Daewoo Group, almost overnight,  became one of South Korea's most influential and powerful 'Chaebols'.

Dr. Bez and I met at the Daewoo Design Forum. He wanted to reveal to me four new model concepts, which were planned for launch in 1997 – and he was eager for external, non-Korean feedback on the cars.

The four new models were to be called Lanos, Nubira, Leganza and Matiz. The Lanos, Leganza and Matiz were all designed by Ital Design.

Lanos revealed traces of Giugiaro’s 1995 submission to Honda for the Honda Civic; whilst Leganza was simply a scaled-down version of the Kensington concept car, which Ital Design had presented to Jaguar in 1990.

However the design of the Nubira was contracted to Italy’s I.D.E.A Institute, simply to see what a competing design house would produce.

The Nubira clay was a stylish, completely different take, from the Giugiaro-designed Lanos and Leganza.

Nubira was a very attractive, innovative, and efficient package, with exceptional interior space given the modest exterior dimensions.


Power came from a 1.6L twin cam four cylinder GenII engine, manufactured in Australia by GM-Holden and mated to a Daewoo-built five speed manual; or the GM-supplied 4T-40 automatic.

The brand-new Kunsan plant in which Nubira was built was one of the most modern facilities in the world at the time, and the quality at end-of-line was very impressive. Less than 5% of cars which came off the line required any sort of rectification.

The suspension design was a product of collaboration between the program manager in Korea and Daewoo’s Technical Centre in Worthing, Sussex. The chief engineer for suspension was a former Lotus suspension specialist, and the end result featured components which were surprising for a mass market sedan, including a Panhard rod which resulted in a very well-controlled ride and handling compromise.

I drove a Nubira prototype extensively at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Britain during a Daewoo ride and drive program in September 1996, and was very positively impressed with its competent handling.

In fact, given different circumstances, I think Nubira (with capacity increased to 2.0L) could have formed the basis of a very successful racing sedan, such was the competence of the handling developed by its ex-Lotus handling specialist.

Nubira J-100 (top) and J-150 (bottom)

Because of its GM links, Nubira was based on the GM J-car platform, and appeared in two forms before Daewoo Motor collapsed. The original car was codenamed J-100, and the facelift car, with significant improvements was the J-150.

The closing of Daewoo Motor may have resulted in personal disgrace and jail for the founder, but the vehicle programs were admirable, competent and surprisingly sophisticated – which I attribute to the technical oversight and expertise of Dr. Bez.

Ulrich Bez’s BMW/Porsche experience mirrors the impact which ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer is having today on the cars from Hyundai-Kia.

Daewoo (Chevrolet) Lacetti hatch and sedan

Beyond the J-150; there was the General Motors-influenced J-200, badged as the Lacetti. The hatch was designed by Ital Design, and the sedan by Pininfarina. They introduced a range of body/chassis refinements, but were also the very last cars to carry the Daewoo badge.

We must no longer consign Korean cars to the ‘pretender’ box. They are world-class, benchmark cars, deserving of respect and consideration when making choices. They are solidly designed and built, reliable too, and I’m sure will deliver impressive durability.

Given the fact that the next generation of personal transport is such an unknown, married to the fact that you may need to make a decision today on what to buy – then Korean cars deserve to be in the mix.

They represent good value, and integrity, and if you can overcome badge bias, they will deliver long term satisfaction. Do you want anything more?