Giugiaro's Mid-1970s Production Cars' Theme

Master stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro (Wikipedia entry here) designed concept and production cars in a variety of styles over his career.  During the early-mid 1970s and thereabouts his theme for production cars emphasized a near-universal shape for rear side windows along with tall, airy passenger compartment greenhouses.

These similarities likely had to do with maintaining brand identification because those production automobiles were almost entirely from only three carmakers: Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo and Hyundai.  However, to some degree his designs were for competitive models, so brand image consistency was a casualty to fashion at times.

These are discussed below.  Most images are from the manufacturers.

Gallery

1971 Alfa Romeo Alfasud
The Alfasud ("South Alfa") had to do with a government project to stimulate economic growth in Italy's south.  Alfa Romeo built a factory in the Naples area to produce the new design.  Note the tall passenger greenhouse.

Rear quarter view.  The aft side window features a small frame reversal ("dogleg') on its rear edge.  In this case, it was related to the functionally necessary shaping of the rear side door.

1973 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti
But the dogleg was retained when a two-door Alfasud appeared.

1973 Volkwagen Passat
Giugiaro used that shape again when he styled the aft end of the Volkswagen Passat.  (The front half of the car was existing styling from an Audi model.)

Rear quarter.  This design is angular, a Giugiaro sub-theme seen on some of the designs pictured here.

1975 Volkswagen Golf
The Golf marked VW's departure from rear mounted, air-cooled motors.  Golfs and later Volkswagens had front-located fluid-cooled motors and front-wheel drive.  The Golf's shape is "thicker" than the more airy Passat, but the greenhouse is tall and there's that window dogleg in softened form.

1974 Volkswagen Sciroccos
Giugiaro continued his Passat theme of crisp surfaces.  As usual, the greenhouse is tall, but the dogleg profile is missing for once.

1974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTs
The sporty Alfetta has a softer lower body, but Giugiaro's greenhouse theme remains.

1975 Hyundai Pony
This car can be considered a "thinner" Golf thanks to its flatter side sculpting.

1976c. Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint
This sporty Alfasud  comes off as a smaller, more angular Alfetta.

1981 DeLorean - BaT auction photo
A somewhat later design in the mould of Giugiaro's 1970 Posrche-based Tapiro concept, it retains the theme elements discussed above.

Three Surprisingly Similar 1975-Vintage European Cars

I recently wrote about the design similarity of the Volkswagen Passat (B1) (produced 1973-81) and the Renault R20/R30 (produced 1975-84) -- see the comments for information on the Renaults design ancestry.  In today's post I add the Simca 1307 (produced 1975-86) to the mix.

To a considerable degree the appearance of these cars from three different manufacturers was due to the styling fashion of the time -- angular, "three-box" formats featuring large windows.  The key origin design for the cars discussed here was that of the Audi 80 B1 (Audi Fox in the USA) that entered production in 1972.  Its designer most likely was Giorgetto Giugiaro, as noted in the German language Wikipedia entry here.

Design of the Renault R20/R30 is credited to Gaston Juchet, that of the Simca 1307 (also Talbot 1510) to Englishman Roy Axe.  That said, one might not be criticized for thinking that all three designs came from the pen of Giugiaro.

Some comparative images are presented below.

Gallery

1973 Volkswagen Passat (B1)
The Passat was a fastback version of the Audi 80.  Note the side window profile and how it compares to those of the Renault and Talbot (Simca) below.

1976 Renault R20
The R20/R30 was longer than the VW, having a wheelbase of 2625 mm (104.7 inches) compared to 2470 mm (97.2 inches).  The Simca/Talbot about 61 mm (1.8 inches shorter than the Renaults.

Talbot 1510
It might have come off the same assembly line as the R20 in the previous photo.

1975 Volkswagen Dasher - for sale photo
Giugiaro's VW aft end featured D-pillar sail panels framing a large backlight window and sloping upper trunk sheetmetal.  Due to its shorter length, the VW's C-pillar angle differs from those on the longer Renaults and Simca/Talbots.

1976 Renault R20
That aft design also appears on the Renault shown here.

Talbot 1510
Here the sail panels are absent.  Otherwise, the rear is similar to that of the VW.

The Problematical Renault R20 and R30

Renault's R20/R30 cars (produced 1975-1984) suffered from engineering-related defects, as their Wikipedia entry explains.

As for their styling, it was rather generic European "three-box" mid-1970s.  In charge of Renault styling at the time of development was Gaston Juchet, who might have been influenced by the work of Italian maestro Georgetto Giugiaro, as can be seen in the images below.

The nearly-identical R20s and R30s were attempts by Renault to return to making larger cars than its postwar 4CV, Dauphine and such.  Their appearance was not the quirky, French look later used by styling chief Patrick le Quément on upscale models such as the Vel Satis.

Unless noted, the photos below are factory-sourced.

Gallery

1976 Renault R20
R20 and R30 bodies were essentially identical, the most visible difference being their headlights.

1975 Renault R30

1975 Renault R30
Compare this car with the one in the following photo.

1973 Volkswagen Passat (B)
The Vollkswagen Dasher / Passat (B1) (produced 1973-1981) was derived from an Audi. Styling was by Giugiaro.  Both the English and French Wikipedia entries for the R20/R30 fail to mention any connection with Giugiaro's Passat design.  Yer there are many similarities -- for example, the side window profile, front end design, and even the overall proportions and "feeling."

1976 Renault R20
Note the after end of the passenger greenhouse --  the sail panels as well as the relationship of the backlight window and trunk sheet metal.

1975 Volkswagen Dasher - for sale photo
Those details are essentially the same as seen on this VW Dasher (North American name for the Passat).

1976 Renault R20
A R20 seen from normal viewing perspective.  Its wheelbase was about 2665 mm (104.9 inches) compared to the Passat's 2470 mm (97.2 inches), perhaps the major difference in the designs.

Volkswagen Design Language Circa 2019

Unlike some Japanese carmakers, Volkswagen has kept its styling restrained, not flamboyant.

The problem all automobile firms face is the need to test body shapes in wind tunnels as part of efforts to achieve good fuel efficiency.  This results in little difference in basic shapes within each type (sedan, station wagon, SUV, etc.).  Therefore, to provide distinctive visual brand identity, cars nowadays often feature elaborate sheet metal sculpting along with cluttered, oddly-shaped details and ornamentation.

Volkswagen's current design philosophy seems to take a contrarian position.  Sculpting tends to be simple and grilles and other details tend to have a horizontal theme as opposed to the curves and angles seen in many places elsewhere.

2017 Honda Civic Hatchback
An example is the Honda Civic shown above.

Below is a gallery of recent Volkswagen models.  The company haas been making a major effort to have a small number of platforms as the basis for a large number of models for its various brands.  Given a basic unibody structure, sheetmetal claddings can assume a variety of decorative forms.  However, the Volkswagen brand styling is largely consistent across various platforms and body types.

Gallery

2017 VW Tiguan
All the cars shown here feature a high sculpted character line along the side that starts abaft of the front wheel opening and extends to the rear.  Grilles feature simple, horizontal bar arrangements, sometimes supplemented by recessed vertical bars or small "teeth" as seen on the Tiguan above.

2018 VW Polo
The Polo is small with a small grille opening, though bars above and below the bumper are still horizontal.

2019 VW Arteon
A large VW sedan.  There are some fashionable angular touches in the headlight assembly and grille opening shape.  The VW design theme is retained in the horizontal bars at the front and the side character line.

2019 VW Jetta
The same can be said regarding the '19 Jetta, though its grille includes recessed vertical bars.

2019 VW Touareg
Grille elements are strongly horizontal.  Here the character line morphs into an evocation of a rear fender, and the side sheetmetal is dished in more than in the vehicles in the previous photos.

2020 VW Golf
The treatment here is similar to that of the Polo shown above.

2020 VW Passat
The new 2020 VW Passat continues the horizontal styling theme.

2019 Volkswagen Touareg: A Relatively Clean Design

An impression I get is that the most overly-decorated cars these days are made by Japanese companies.  Germany's Volkswagen, on the other hand, has tended to keep its designs cleaner.  I recently saw a new VW Touareg SUV on a freeway, and it inspired this post.

Actually, the Touareg does have a lot more sculpting and ornamentation than previous VWs, but a disciplined design theme was imposed to yield a calmer appearance.

Let's take a look.

Gallery

Setting the stage is this 2017 Honda Civic hatchback.  Side sculpting is angular with triangular spots.  The rear end has a large collection of angled shapes that don't relate well to one another.  Such over-detailing and confusion has become all too common in recent years.

This 2019 VW Touareg  carries some angled detailing, but not nearly as much as on that Honda.  Note the horizontal bars in the grille area and on the (possibly) fake air vents in front of the front wheels.  This horizontal theme ties the design together and lessens the visual confusion of the kind seen in the first photo.

Side view.  Yes, there is the side sculpting that's de rigueur these days.  But note that the main character creases are horizontal, continuing the theme developed at the front.  The shoulder-level crease is more modulated, subtly softening the horizontal parts.  I like the side window profile.

The Touareg's rear again emphasizes the horizontal, adding to the clean-yet-detailed styling solution. The angles on the tail light assembly are modest and integrated with adjoining sculpting, though a hint of styling cliché remains.

Borgward Isabella Coupé

The original Borgward company had its best years sales-wise during the 1950s.  Its product line in those days included the small Hansa 1500 and 1800 models, the comparatively large Hansa 2400 and the intermediate Isabella.

The subject of this post is the Isabella Coupé of 1957-1961.  Its styling seems flawed to me, but there are many images of preserved Coupés found via Google, indicating that the car has plenty of fans.

As I will point out in the captions below, its styling was somewhat awkwardly done even in the context of its time. I'm also inclined to think that the Isabella Coupé was inspired as a product concept and even stylistically by Volkswagen's Karmann-Ghia coupé.

Gallery

An early, perhaps 1955, Karmann-Ghia: a classic design.  Its wheelbase was 2400 mm (94.5 inches) and its motor produced 40 or less horsepower.

Borgward Isabella Coupé publicity photo.  Isabellas had 75 horsepower motors and wheelbases of 2600 mm (100 in.), putting them in a higher class than Karmann-Ghias.  Its passenger greenhouse's C-pillar / backlight area somewhat resembles the K-G, and the seating arrangements are about the same.  Otherwise, design details differ considerably in part because the K-G's motor was in the rear and the Isabella had a conventional powertrain.

Another publicity photo.  Borgwards had those too-large diamond-shaped logo elements as part of the grille design: would have been better smaller.  "Frenched" headlight assemblies and the turn indicator lights atop the front fenders make for a fussy looking front.

The most serious design problem is the effect of the small passenger compartment coupled with the long trunk as seen in this "for sale" photo of a 1961 coupé.  The car would have been better looking if the passenger compartment were a true 2+2 layout and the aft end of the greenhouse was positioned approximately above the rear axle line.

A for-sale 1960 Isabella Coupé posed at an angle that demonstrates the design's too-long trunk proportion.

Shannons (Australia) auction photo of a 1959 coupé.  The car looks best from this viewpoint.  Even so, the fenders look poorly styled.  I think the front fender drops at too great a rate abaft of the cowling.  Raising it and enlarging the greenhouse along with tidying the car's face would have made for a better -- though less distinctive -- design.

What Were They Thinking?: Type 34 Karmann-Ghia

"Styled by Ghia's Sergio Sartorelli with assistance from American Tom Tjaarda" is how this article summarizes the 1961-1969 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia Type 34 design's origin.  Total production of the Type 34 was about one-tenth that of the original Karmann-Ghia launched in 1955 and manufactured until 1975.  Clearly, something went wrong.

Volkswagen introduced its new, larger Type 3 in 1961 and the Type 3-based Type 34 Karmann-Ghia was soon added to the product line.  More information on the Type 34 is here (scroll down).

Type 34s were fairly expensive, but to my mind the reason they sold poorly was the styling.  Bear in mind that the original Karmann-Ghia is widely considered to be a classic design, so matching its quality would have been difficult.   The Ghia stylists instead opted for a considerably different theme based roughly on the "three box" format that was into its long design fashion reign.  That in itself was not necessarily a problem.  What went wrong was the detailing.

Gallery

1955 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia -- the original, classic version by Luigi Segre using some features by Chrysler's Virgil Exner.

1961 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia Type 34.  Like the original, it had a rear-mounted air cooled motor, and that influenced its proportions.  The side character line is split into two segments, perhaps to introduce variety.  If they had to be there, they should have been offset vertically to add even more interest to an otherwise fairly static feature.

The greenhouse has plenty of glass. Probably too much, as a thicker C-pillar with a wider base than top would have better integrated the greenhouse with the main body.  The aft end reminds me of the first Chevrolet Corvair's.

The most serious styling problem is at the front.  The curved character lines that wrap around to the sides form a pattern that is both questionably arbitrary and at odds with the basic body shaping.  My guess is that the idea was to harken a relatively squared-off zone to the rounded prow of the first Karmann-Ghias.  Big mistake.

Volkswagen's First Karmann-Ghia

Nearly half a million were built over 1955-1975 in Germany and Brazil.  That was the original version of Volkswagen's sporty Karmann-Ghia coupe/cabriolet.  The platform was from the VW Beetle, making the car convenient to own and maintain.

The Wikipedia entry notes that bodies were built by the Karmann firm, but the design was by Ghia's Luigi Segre.

But the matter of styling wasn't that simple.  During the early 1950s, Chrysler Corporation contracted with Ghia to build customized show cars designed by Virgil Exner and his staff.  It happened that the Karmann-Ghia used a number of styling cues from the Chrysler D'Elegance show car of 1952-53.  (It was built in 1952 and displayed at the Paris auto show, but didn't debut in the USA until 1953 -- so both years have been cited for it.)

Regardless, the Karmann-Ghia is widely considered an outstanding design.

Gallery

The 1952 Chrysler Parade Phaeton.  Its fender line was adapted for the restyled 1955 Chryslers and DeSotos.  A variation of the horizontal character line and kick-up rear fender line appeared on the D'Elegance.

Side view of the D'Elegance (RM Sotheby's auction photo: the 2011 hammer price was nearly $1 million).

Side view of a 1957 Karmann-Ghia.  Compare to the D'Elegance in the previous photo.  Clearly the platforms (full-size Chrysler versus VW Beetle) affected the proportions, so Segre did indeed contribute a good deal of original design input.  Still, the spirit of the side treatment and the greenhouse are that of the D'Elegance.

Front three-quarter view of a 1957 Karmann-Ghia (Barrett-Jackson auction photo).  Note that the prow thrusts forward to the point that it isn't protected by the front bumper.  I owned a Karmann-Ghia for a while during grad school years at Penn, and the nose got dinged several times while parked on Philadelphia's Pine Street (between 39th and 40th streets).

Rear three-quarter view of the same car.  The vents are for the rear-mounted air-cooled motor.