Bertone Alfa Romeo Canguro - too far ahead of its time?
03/28/2011
In the fall of 1964, Bertone presented his latest creation to an astonished audience of experts, the reinterpretation of the Alfa Romeo Giulia "Tubolare", called Canguro (Kangaroo in German). According to the report in AR 42/1964 of October 1, 1964,a live kangaroo was also present at the presentation!
The Canguro was a super-flat design masterpiece (Giorgetto Giugiaro) and contained many innovative design elements. The car was conceived as a competition vehicle, so minimal air resistance and low vehicle weight were at the top of the list of requirements.
To increase aerodynamic efficiency, the windows were laid flat to the bodywork and not set into a frame. The doors extended far into the roof and the entire front could be opened up as a hood. The vehicle offered excellent use of space and good all-round visibility. The body was to be made of plastic in series production, but the prototype had an aluminum outer skin.
Unfortunately, nothing came of the series production. According to the Conceptcarz website, the one-off was destroyed by a journalist, but was restored many years later by a Japanese enthusiast and presented at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in 2005.
Would sports cars look different today if this vehicle had prevailed back then?
