When we generally talk about concept cars, it is mostly the weird and outlandish ones that come to mind. These vehicles are all about design and portray an ambitious idea of the future. But rarely do we see concepts that are both futuristic and practical. And one of those rarities was the 1986 Italdesign Machimoto. It was an unusual concept that wanted to bridge the gap between a car and a motorcycle. And from the name, it is easy to confuse it for Japanese origin.
But 'Machimoto' is derived from two Italian words "Machina" and "Motociclo" which shows us how evident Italdesign wanted to showcase the fusion. It was based on a Volkswagen Golf, had an open-top layout, and came with saddles instead of seats. This helped it pack six occupants with ease, and could also go up to an insane 9-seater layout if being snug-seated wasn't an issue! Of course, the design was clearly futuristic with a sleek form factor, Sci-Fi design cues like the wheel covers, rear-hinged go-through suicide-like doors; and a thick roll bar at the rear for safety name-sake.
This concept was never intended for production and was just a showcase of how practicality can be infused without compromising on the Sci-Fi appeal. All the occupants were to wear helmets and in case of a roll-over, well, it wasn't well-equipped for contingencies. Nevertheless, the Italdesign Machimoto happens to be one of the most off-bear concepts to emerge from the famed Giorgetto Giugiaro.
The 1986 Italdesign Machimoto was the 'Daft Punk' of cars.
The Machimoto Was Based On A Volkswagen Golf
The Machimoto comes from one of Italy's famous design houses - Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. It has given us masterpieces like the DeLorean DMC-12, Volkswagen Scirocco, Lotus Esprit, and the Lancia Delta. But the eco-friendly Machimoto was quite different. It didn't have unreal aspects like many of the concepts of the time but was surprisingly functional. The Machimoto resembled a lot with the 1986 Volkswagen Orbit which was also designed by Italdesign.
It was a hybrid car based on the Volkswagen Golf Syncro. The Machimoto was somewhat of a roofless version of the Orbit but packed a wild quirk that no one would have expected. It was based on a standard Golf GTi that was powered by a 139 HP 1.8-liter inline-4 motor with a front-wheel-drive layout. The wheelbase was slightly extended to allow for an interior layout that shock the world.
Futuristic Dashboard With A Transforming Steering Wheel
The dashboard was futuristic with lots of futuristic-looking info on the Sci-Fi layout. But the most interesting was its steering wheel that could be transformed to mimic a traditional motorcycle handle with its foldable handles placed inside the steering spoke arms. The dashboard was enclosed in what happens to be the sleekest front windshield in a car.
Passengers Seated On A Saddle With Helmets. A Baffling Car It Was
The fused appeal of Machimoto was vividly showcased on the inside where it got two long saddles for seats that could house 6 occupants. And if you were very serious about shared mobility, a third saddle could also be added to provide for a tight-fit for up to 9 occupants. It had individual lap belts and passengers had to wear helmets to tackle Machimoto's questionable safety quotient. But the most baffling part was the fact that this car's puny engine was still able to ferry 9 fully-grown adult passengers without a hiccup.
Sleek Form Factor With Sci-Fi Cues And A Huge Roll Bar
The only safety feature it packed was a huge roll bar that would, in case of emergency, save only the passenger in the last column. And it actually looked awkward on the sleek futuristic-looking car. The neo-retro design cues were evident from the elongated headlamp enclosure and those cool-looking wheel covers. The doors (if you call them so!) are pretty minimal. Those were thick, elongated rail-like elements that raised like a suicide door for easy ingress and egress.
The Boldest 'Economy' Concept Car With A Saddle Even Today
The Italdesign Machimoto turned heads for its radical design, but more so, for its weird take on the seating layout. Despite it being a fully drivable prototype, the Machimoto never flourished out of its concept stage because of obvious reasons with safety being the most evident. Packing up to 9 occupants and having safety features for just two of them was barbaric, to say the least. But Machimoto aced the economic aspect of what they wanted to achieve. It has been over 30 years since this bold concept came out, and there hasn't been a single 9-seater saddle car that flaunted the open-top design with such Sci-Fi appeal.
Sources: 95octane.com, Cardesignnews.com, Dyler.com