One of the highlights of last week’s 2012 Geneva Motor Show was the Cambiano concept car from Italian design house Pininfarina.
Speaking with Automotive News Europe (subscription required), Angori admitted that his company was considering building a “high-performance, low-emission luxury model” like the Cambiano if there was enough interest from companies and private buyers.
The original concept was conceived around a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, with the diesel component comprising an advanced turbine engine.
Angori told Automotive News that if Pininfarina elects to build a run of only 10 cars, the potential price would be around $1.3 million.
As the reports have surfaced on the web, the Italian company is mulling a limited run production of the Pininfarina Cambiano concept.
For the production model of thr Pininfarina Cambiano concept, a conventional diesel-powered internal combustion engine will replace the generator.
It is a new approach to luxury in the car, according to Pininfarina's school of thought. The Cambiano is launched, a concept car that is elegant and sporty, refined and comfortable. The luxury sports saloon embodies the innovative archetypes of Pininfarina design in full. In a way, it was Pininfarina's first real concept car.
Formal purity and simplicity become elements of iconic design.
The proportions of the Cambiano convey dynamism and fluidity, thanks to the low tapered front and the light, fleeting rear-mounted cabin. The LED front headlights are simple "blocks" of pure, crystalline light. In the purest spirit of Pininfarina, the essentiality of the form becomes a very elegant expression of pure function.
The light is an integral part of the Cambiano design concept, inside and out. The main display shows the power delivered by the 4 electric motors backed up by the turbine, the battery charge and the fuel gauge, the total range and the range with all-electric operation, the driving mode (Ecocity, Snow/Ice, Efficiency, Sport, Drifting), and the speedometer. For the Cambiano Pininfarina specifically developed with Fate, Argentina's largest tyre production and exporting company, the first tyre for top of the range cars, Concept Tyre, from Eximia by Pininfarina.
The perfect integration of the styling and engineering activities has produced an extended range plug-in electric car that combines top performance and roominess with the comfort of a luxury car and total respect of the environment. The traction control strategies make the vehicle even more enjoyable to drive, guaranteeing outstanding performance and maximum safety over all types of routes.
Combined with the micro turbine, it guarantees a range of 205 km in the urban cycle in all-electric mode, and a total range in the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) mixed cycle of over 800 km in extended range mode, higher than that of luxury sports cars with conventional drive systems. The battery is the fruit of FAAM's experience in the development of lithium batteries. This, associated with a larger specific power reserve, will make it the ideal solution for future electric cars.
The battery case was designed to respect current crash test standards and it complies with ISO 26262 vehicle safety regulations. The Cambiano's generous range was achieved by the innovative drive system, by focussing attention on aerodynamic efficiency, obtained in the Pininfarina Wind Tunnel, and by a significant weight reduction: the Cambiano weighs 1695 kg empty, an excellent result if we consider the size of the car. The driver can choose his preferred driving mode using a selector lever. For example, the Ecocity mode zeros local emissions, activates exclusively electric drive and excludes the turbine.