TOP 10 of the Most Radical Wedge-Shaped Cars - Design

The future is wedge-shaped, thought car designers in the seventies. The number of study models that were drawn with a ruler at that time can be counted on multiple hands. All the more reason to look at a design trend that was so sharp that you could cleave a block of wood with it.

1 Dome Zero (1978)

This is not even a study model. The Dome Zero actually had to go into production. Unfortunately, the manufacturer Dome, known from racing, failed to get a type approval for Japan and other countries. The Dome Zero acquired eternal fame in animated form. He served as inspiration for Hot Rod, an Autobot from the original Transformers series, which could turn into a red and yellow sports car.

2. Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968)

One of the first wedges, designed by Marcello Gandini and based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. Behind the driver is a 230 hp strong 2.0-liter V8 and a manual six-speed gearbox. The name Carabo comes from the Carabidae, a family of 40.000 beetle species, some of which have orange and green armor. The scissor doors - which had never been applied to a car before - came back to another famous Gandini creation: the Lamborghini Countach.

3. Alfa Romeo Navajo (1976)

It is clear where the makers of Battlestar Galactica got their inspiration. The space hunters from that television series - the Colonial Vipers - not only share their design language, but also their color scheme with this Alfa Romeo Navajo. Innovative was the use of an active front splitter and rear spoiler. Technology that has since become commonplace. Just like the Carabo, the Navajo is subcutaneously an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

4. Aston Martin Bulldog (1979) (Wedge-Shaped)

A fillet-sharp Aston Martin? It must have come from the pen of William Towns. And that's right. The man behind the Aston Martin Lagonda (see elsewhere in these Classic Cars) designed the Bulldog with the idea of building a small series of them. However, that turned out to be an expensive exercise, so it remained just one copy. Funny detail: within Aston Martin the Bulldog went through life as K9.01, which is a reference to K9, the robot dog from the science fiction series Doctor Who.

You may like to read: This is definitely a model for everyone 1992 BMW E36 320i!

5. Bizzarrini Manta (1968)

The Bizzarrini Manta was a rush job. Master designer Giorgetto Giugiaro started his own design house - the legendary Italdesign - on 13 February 1968 and already wanted to show his calling card at the Turin car show. He bought a racing chassis, including Corvette engine, from Giotto Bizzarrini and designed and built the Manta in just forty days. In 2012 the car was auctioned at Gooding & Company. The bids remained at 850.000 dollar and the Manta remained unsold.

6. Ferrari 512S Modulo (1970) (Wedge-Shaped)

We know the Modulo in its white form, but when it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970, it was black. The ultra-low study model has no conventional doors. Instead, the windshield, the roof and the side windows slide forward as a whole. In 2014, Pininfarina sold the Modulo to the American collector James Glickenhaus. It has restored the Ferrari and returned it to full rolling condition.

7. Lancia Stratos Zero (1970)

The only way to get into the Stratos Zero is to open its windshield. And don't think that the 3.58 meter long, only 84 centimeter high concept car is an empty shell, because it is fully functional. Michael Jackson fans can know him from the movie Moonwalker, in which 'The King of Pop' transforms into a silver-colored Stratos Zero. The car - which was restored in 2000 and regained its original orange color - was hammered off at RM Sotheby's in 2011 at 843.129,28 dollar.

8. Maserati Boomerang (1971) (Wedge-Shaped)

The interior of the Maserati Boomerang is possibly even more spectacular than the exterior. All gauges are placed on a large disk in front of the driver's nose. The handlebars rotate around it. The Boomerang is based on the Maserati Bora and has a 4.7-liter V8 in the rear. It was made street legal just after the turn of the century and was sold at auction house Bonhams in 2015 for 3.654.222,00 million dollar.

9. Vauxhall SRV (1970)

Vauxhall had (and has) an image problem. In the early 1970s, the brand tried to boost its somewhat dull reputation with this sensational SRV (Style and Research Vehicle). He lacked an engine and was made of wood, fiberglass and aluminum, but had innovative technology on board. The SRV is equipped with active aerodynamics, electric level control on the rear axle and a system with which fuel can be pumped around for a better balance.

10. Volkswagen-Porsche Tapiro (1970) (Wedge-Shaped)

The Volkswagen Porsche Tapiro (partly) no longer exists. The study model was sold to a Spanish industrialist two years after his debut, who then drove it every day. He could not do that for a long time, because activists who protested for better working conditions blew up the car with a bomb. The burned-out carcass was bought back by Italdesign and exhibited in the Giugiaro Museum.