Giorgetto Giugiaro turns 80 this year, and he’s chosen to celebrate the occasion with the Sibylla concept car on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como.
The car is the second product to emerge from GFG Style, a Turin-based design company founded by Giorgetto and his son Fabrizio Giugiaro in 2016 following the sale of their namesake company, Italdesign Giugiaro, to the Volkswagen Group.
Sibylla in Brief
The Sibylla is luxury four-door electric sedan prototype developed in collaboration with Envision, a Chinese company developing intelligent management energy systems. Envision’s mission is to create a holistic ecosystem where energy, transport and infrastructure work in harmony. The goal is to enable a transition to a sustainable future in which energy supply is clean, secure, and affordable.
Named after Giorgetto Giugiaro’s mother, the Sibylla revisits the vaulted designer’s classic themes of elegance and sportiness in a package that is over 5m in length and 1.48m high while incorporating innovative solutions in terms of accessibility, functionality and aesthetics. It is a celebration of a lifetime dedicated to iconic automotive design.
Exterior Design
The highlight of the Sibylla design is its transparent windshield-roof, which is made of photosensitive glass. The entire windshield dome slides forward to ease ingress and egress into the front seats and there is no A-pillar. This not only makes access easier for the driver and passenger but also enhances driver visibility. The rear passengers also benefit from easier access thanks to the glass roof sections aft of the B-pillar, which open in gullwing formation.
Thin headlamps at the base of the hood are connected to a chrome strip that incorporates the GFG badge at the center. This visually stretches the front end while smaller lamps in the side recess add an air of intent. The bodyside consists of pure, full surfaces, demarcated by a single dihedral cut shoulderline that connects both wheelarches. A chrome finisher highlights the sill while a long red led light strip below draws the eye down.
The rear of the car features a subtle decklid spoiler to aid aerodynamics place above a very on-trend full-width rear lamp section and several horizontal chrome bands to add width and a dash of elegance to the design.
Interior Design
The Sibylla’s electric propulsion system — with four electric motors placed on the two axles — has enabled Giorgetto and Fabrizio to improve accessibility and enhance cabin space.
They’ve taken advantage of the powertrain layout and introduced rational, functional and ergonomic solutions: the floor is completely flat; there is no central tunnel; and all four Poltrona Frau-trimmed leather seats are independent — the rear seats can recline completely, as in the front.
The Sibylla’s aviation-inspired steering wheel featured touch pads positioned at thumb level for enhanced control and less distraction. The IP develops as a half-moon, running from side to side. It contains a full-width smart interface, displaying data on the car’s performance and the wider environment it drives through.
Two central cabinets between the front and the rear seats run on guides to improve accessibility. Hinged on the front side of the cabinets a movable control panel allows access to all services. It can be reclined freely to further enhance space.
Thanks to the glass dome, the traditional side window movement has been eliminated, leaving room for a wide dispenser in the side panel. Generous interior dimensions also allowed for a space behind the rear seats, useful for small bags, coats, and in general allowing for better privacy.
The car will now make its second public debut at the annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este this weekend, competing alongside other concepts and one-offs in the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award category.
Giorgetto and Fabrizio will be there signing autographs. But don’t forget the birthday cake.
