Bertone Lamborghini Genesis

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Bertone Lamborghini Genesis

The Bertone Lamborghini Genesis was a concept car in the Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) category of cars that didn't take off till the late 20th century. It was unveiled at the 1988 Turin motor show with Bertone not saying what kind of car the Genesis was, the public called it a people mover, and had Autocar dub it a 'Revelation'. The Genesis was a behemoth of a car, with it being 14ft 8in (4.47m) long and 6ft 9in (2m) wide, while only being 5ft (1.5m) tall. All this had 5 seats with two being the front seats, which you access from a pair of 'beetle wing' doors, which are made up of mostly the windshield, and two conventional minivan doors on the side. The back three seats, with two in the back and one in the middle, could rotate 180 degrees to face the back. The front seats were placed above the engine so when asked about the maintenance on this car and the challenges this would bring Nuccio Bertone said I’m convinced that in the near future reliability will be so good that we will not have the need to reach the engine compartment easily any more. A car will be like a fridge; it will work for years and years without the need for maintenance .

The Genesis is a bright red, matchbox inspired, behemoth of a car and is styled to be a 'Sporty MPV'. The engine is a 5.2L V12, from the Lamborghini Countach, making 455 bhp. The Countach V12 is powering the rear wheels through a 3 speed automatic transmission but was called a 'fully laden electric milk float' due to underdevelopment. The idea for the Genesis was proposed due to the Lamborghini LM002 having finished production just weeks earlier. It never ended up going into production with no one reason given but it also means that the one that was made is very underdeveloped. The 3 speed automatic transmission was underpowered, ratios were too long, and did not suit the 'Sporty MPV' feel they were going for. The breaks were okay, the suspension was not set up properly for the 2 tons it lumbered with, and the mass was very unevenly distributed. It was said that if there was any minor disruption to the road, you would have been thrown to the other lane. The underdeveloped car would never see any sort of production and you can still see it at the Museo Volandia in Somma Lombardo, Italy.