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<A 670-HP Lancia Delta Integrale EV Will Tackle World Rallycross in 2022 With the FIA's WRX series going electric, now's the time to revive a true classic. Ahh, rallycross going electric. It feels like someone invents a new version of it every week, probably because rallycross sort of has the ideal format for cars with limited range. The races are just 6-9 minutes long, but it's also tough actually making electric cars you can rattle the absolute hell out of around a jump track while keeping the safety standards somewhere north of acceptable. And then there are the costs. The FIA World Rallycross championship is, after years of skirting the issue, finally taking the plunge next season. One of the entrants, French outfit GCK Motorsport, is bringing things back to the old school by using the 500-kilowatt, dual-motor electric powertrain and battery from Kreisel (the people who are also bringing you insane hydrofoil racing) and fitting it to a Lancia Delta Integrale. That car's a volatile legend of rallycross' past, as well as a six-time World Rally Championship title winner. GCK Although there's obviously gonna have to be a fair amount of screwing around with it, this really will have a Delta Integrale chassis, somewhere in its base. The Integrale wasn't the Group B Lancia–that was the completely haphazard Delta S4, a beast with, as you'd expect in rally, more horsepower than sense that could reportedly pull up to 800 hp in a final race. Instead, the Integrale was a Group A competitor that still won over everyone's hearts. But rallying and Lancia Deltas go together like me and standing by the side of the course getting a face full of gravel, so this is more than a welcome development in any case. GCK already made a restomod version of the Lancia Delta Integrale that looks mighty lovely zooming around a smooth circuit because it's a car that's shaped like the most satisfying box and it's got the handling of a modern EV. That's all nice and good and I definitely wouldn't be angry if someone offered to let me (or preferably Stef) hoon one round the Nordschleife. But it's not the roaring, angry, roughness of whatever makes people want to snout rallycross cars around dirt tracks like 670-horsepower truffle hunters. LANCIA The WRX series is very keen to make some, frankly, fairly wild claims about the cars accelerating faster than F1 (yes, for a short period and if the F1 car doesn't have ERS). To be honest, when you're as obscure as rallycross has ended up these days, you can pretty much say absolutely anything and it'll either please all 15 incredibly passionate Estonians following the championship or everyone will just ignore it, anyway. For sure, at least, WRX has a decent grid put together for next year with 14 entrants to the 2022 title. And y'know, 671 horsepower and 880 newton-meters of torque in cars this size is going to be rude and fun as hell whatever you do with it. It took less than that to impress Ken Block, after all. At the very least, this is a more dignified progression of the Delta into the future than what Lancia actually did with it, which was to take on a very 2021 process way back in 2009 and turn what used to be the symbol of manic, gutsy handling into a completely vile crossover it hurts to look at. Please don't bring this one back as electric, Stellantis—you're on watch. LANCIA>

Italdesign Giugiaro - more commonly known as Italdesign - is a design and engineering company based in Italy and since August 9th (National Day) 2010, Lamborghini acquired 90.1 percent of the shares to the firm - which by extension means it belongs to Volkswagen. Volkswagen and Italdesign go a long way and the design firm has been responsible for the design of several notable Volkswagen vehicles including the first generation Volkswagen Golf (1974), Volkswagen Scirocco (1974) and Volkswagen Passat (1973). Quite recently Italdesign revealed the Parcour crossover that is powered by Lamborghini. It was named after the modern sport of - pioneered by the French group Yamakasi. Parkour focuses on moving around urban obstacles with speed and agility - though basically to me they are modern day, very flexible ninjas. Either way, the Parcour car has a coupe and roadster variant which fuses elements of crossovers, sports cars and the sharp styling expected of a modern Lamborghini. In fact, paint it orange, slap a raging bull logo and christen it with the name of a famous bull - and we have a striking Lamborghini CUV. The coupe and roadster have enough room for two and are powered by a 542bhp 5.2-litre V10 engine lifted from the parent company's Gallardo. The engine is mated to a seven-speed double-clutch automatic transmission that drives all four tyres on 22-inch rims. The concepts measure 4,530mm long, sit 2,070mm wide and stand 1,335mm tall and weigh just 1.5 tonnes. Italdesign believes the Parcour could hit 100km/h in a rather brisk 3.6 seconds before hitting a top speed of 320km/h.

Automakers would usually display a concept car at an auto show to gauge interest from the public or they just simply want to show off what they have created. After their display, some will end up in museums or in the hands of private collectors and some just ends up in oblivion. The futuristic car you see here ends up being built in limited numbers and this unit has been put up for sale. This concept car is known as the Aztec Barchetta. The Aztec Barchetta was designed by Italian design and engineering company, Italdesign Giugiaro. The company first showcased it in 1988 at the Turin Motor Show. The car features an intensely futuristic styling that is normally seen in science fiction shows. The cockpit-like seating area separates both the driver and passenger. An intercom system is fitted in the car so that both driver and passenger can communicate while the car is moving. The Aztec Barchetta

Audi stunned us at the recent Paris Motor Show when it unveiled the Quattro concept , which pays homage to the original Quattro that pioneered the automaker's now signature all-wheel-drive system. It shares its underpinnings with those found on the hot RS5 coupe, packing 408 horsepower and weighs less than 3,000 pounds. For those who dreamt of a production version, that dream may become a reality according to Autocar. Audi has reportedly been advancing plans for a limited production run of the Quattro, assembled on a dedicated line at parent company Volkswagen's newly acquired design firm, Italdesign. Stefan Reil, head of development at Audi's Quattro Gmbh division, told Autocar that the automaker is "rethinking standard processes to make it possible," and that Audi "know how to engineer it already." If the Quattro concept gets the green light, power would likely come from a tuned version of the turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-five found in the TT RS, producing somewhere around 350 horsepower. Although It's not the 408 hp unit that Audi originally quoted, if the sub-3,000-pound weight is kept in order, it should still make for one heck of an interesting performer.

-the Golf Mk 1, designed by Giugiaro for VW It has been confirmed by an official press release that the Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG) has taken a 90.1% stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.a.. (Italdesign). This partnership includes the name, rights and patents held under Italdesign. The remaining 9.9% is owned by the original owner and founder, the Giugiaro family under the helm of the famous Giorgetto Giugiaro. The unique thing about this take-over is that the share is acquired by Audi's Italian subsidiary, the very famous Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. This keeps Italdesign still very Italian (at least on one level that is). With both being Italian and now with Italdesign under Lamborghini we could be seeing

Remember those rumors that Volkswagen was poised to purchase Italdesign Giugiaro? Well, they're rumors no more, as the two storied firms have just announced that it's a done deal. The German automaker will acquire a 90-percent stake in the design house, and the Giugiaro family, which currently owns the company outright, will retain the remaining 10 percent. It is currently assumed that Volkswagen will keep the 975 employees at Italdesign, adding them to its own design department. Reports indicate that VW will also retain the services of the elder Giorgetto Giugiaro and his son, Fabrizio, who currently serves as the company design head. For what it's worth, the Italian design house styled some of VW's most successful and iconic models, including the original Golf (or Rabbit, depending on your country of birth) and Scirocco. Wolfsburg/Turin, May 25, 2010

The last several years have not been kind to the great Italian design houses like Pininfarina, Bertone and Italdesign. The first two have run into financial brick walls after getting over extended and required bailouts. Thankfully, Italdesign, founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1968, may have found a white knight to keep it solvent in the form of Volkswagen AG. VW and the studio have a long history going back to the first generation Scirocco and Golf both of which were designed by Giugiaro. Italdesign has also been responsible for numerous VW Group concepts for the last thirty years. Giorgetto Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio currently own the studio outright, but it appears that Volkswagen may be preparing to take a majority stake in the Italian company. It's not clear if Ital Design will continue doing work for outside clients under VW ownership, or if the elder Giugiaro, 71, plans on retirement. [source: Automotive News]

It us quite unusual that the same cars are penned by different designers. They both look good and the Optra 5 rear reminds me of a Alfa.... somehow...

ItalDesign unveils prototypes for the Geneva Motor Show Respected Italian carrozzeria, ItalDesign will unveil two new striking concept cars at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show. Italdesign Volta With the hybrid powered coupe Alessandro Volta, Fabrizio Giugiaro wanted to demonstrate that