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It may sound like the name of the hottest new men's fragrance from Italy, but the Mustang by Giugiaro is a unique, one of a kind customized version of the Ford Mustang that is being displayed at the L.A. Auto show.
The car is the work of Fabrizio Giugiaro, who heads the style department for Italdesign, and Giorgetto, Fabrizio's father who is the founder of Italdesign. Giorgetto designed Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, the first Volkswagen Golf and the DeLorean DMC-12.
Fabrizio called the current Mustang the best Mustang design since the 1964 ˝. His own Italian reinterpretation of the American classic pony car is posh and luxurious. It wouldn't be out of place on Rodeo Drive.
The re-imaging of the Mustang happened because Giugiaro so loved the Mustang that he requested the right to put their own spin on the car. Giugiaro said that it was “important to show the automotive world pure exercises in style that interpret key models reflecting the history and image of important brands.”
Giugiaro designed his first Mustang in 1965. He designed a new car atop the Mustang chassis, but removed all but the most rudimentary Mustang vestige behind. The car that Giugiaro designed this time stayed true to the original more so than the first experiment. The car keeps the Mustang's face and profile, but the roof has been opened into one piece of sweeping glass that combines the rear window, windshield and skylight into one piece.
The rear end was also redesigned. It was turned into a fastback with a small tail fin. Giugiaro gave a nod to the 60s Mustang design with side window louvers, adding visual interest to a part of the production car that seemed to have been given little thought. The Mustang by Giugiaro has a sweetness that may seem at odds with the aggressive character of the Mustang. It's still a Mustang, but it lacks the grit and angles that have become synonymous with the Mustang.
The Mustang by Giugiaro isn't the first time that Giugiaro has taken on an American classic car. He also redesigned the 2003 Corvette in honor of the Corvette's 50th Anniversary. Other Italians have tried their hands at improving Detroit's handiwork. Modena produced three new Corvette bodies in 1959, which stripped 400 pounds from the car. Pininfarina also introduced a redesign of the Corvette that was debuted at the 1963 Motor Show in Paris. He also redesigned the 1983 Cadillac as the Allante. None of these cars were particularly beloved.
The Mustang by Giugiaro already ranks much higher on the list of foreign redesigned American cars. The interior is the perfect merging of American style with Italian leather and chrome luxury. The classic Mustang logo is on the headrest and the upholstery on the seats is pinto patterned. The Mustang also has been given a supercharger that gets 500 horsepower from the V8 engine. The Mustang was envisioned by Iococca to be a car that users customized. The Giugiaros have done just that, with surprising results.
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