Italdesign Parcour Concept

The Italdesign Parcour breaks a rule that automotive companies have either been too scared to do or don't want to do it. That is you don't mix a SUV with a sedan or a sports car with an SUV. But it has been broken. And it was broken with the coolest looking piece of metal that has ever laid foot apon this earth. Backed by the Lamborghini and Audi portion of VW, Fabrizio Giugiaro set off on a child hood dream to mix a mid engine super car with a SUV type feel.

 The outcome? Well, the outcome you could say is the new Lancia Stratos, but with a Lamborghini V10, enough said. To clarify for those who don't know the legendary Lancia Stratos, the Parcour is a very fast sports car that can also go very fast off road. That's scary to think of driving a very expensive sports car on dirt, fast. But they seem to know what they are doing at VW because the Parcour can deliver all 540 hp through an all-wheel drive system on any surface. Its awesomeness does not stop with the design or the idea.

To make it possible for either a sports car feel or a SUV feel, the Parcour can be set at three different ride heights: 8.3, 9.8, or 13.0 inches thanks to hydraulic suspension. Thats not all though. To get better performance off road, the chassis incorporates two shock absorbers at each corner, but not how you would think. One shock is mounted more or less vertical and the other horizontal. The shocks are set up for a pushrod-style setup but there are no pushrods, instead employing lockable rocker arms for maximum suspension versatility. In the firmest setting, the rod locks and removes the higher, horizontal shocks from the equation. Raise the ride height, and the rocker arm unlocks, bringing all eight shocks into play. Instead of mirrors there are cameras, which makes way for an interesting aerodynamics system that pushes air close to the body and back over the Lamborghini V10. That air pushes the heat and fumes from the exhaust, which is above the transmission to keep it safe from off road obstacles, away from the car keeping things cool and clean. Now thats German enginering.

If VW brings this car to the public, I will devote all my free time and money into buying one of these, even if it kills me. Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture. It looks great, sounds great, and is an idea I have been wanting to see in a car for a long time. Unfortunately in the world we live in it will stay a concept. But then, VW is the company that owns Bugatti, so you never know what will happen. Anything is possible if you own Bugatti.

(Both a coupe and roadster form was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.)