Big mouth

The Caimano is a show car designed by Italdesign in 1971 on behalf of Alfa Romeo. This unique model, now on display at the Alfa Romeo factory museum ‘La macchina del tempo’ in the Milan suburb of Arese, is based on the Alfasud and was presented to an astonished audience at the 1971 Turin Motor Show.

Italdesign, under the direction of Giorgetto Giugiaro, had previously been responsible for the design of the Alfasud production model, which, as the forefather of the so-called hatchback body, ultimately sold more than a million units. The commission for the Caimano came with the requirement to create a dream car that was far removed from any practical utility. In keeping with the spirit of the times, which was characterised by an unshakeable belief in progress, Giugiaro designed a ‘wedge on wheels’ that eclipsed everything that had gone before.

Italdesign placed a body that looked like something straight out of a science fiction novel on the Alfasud chassis, which had been shortened by 20 centimetres. The two-seater cockpit is enclosed by a spaceship-like glass dome that opens up completely at the front. This eliminates the A-pillar entirely, while the B- and C-pillars form a roll bar behind the cockpit. The rear end of the roof is formed by a spoiler that can be adjusted in four steps from the cockpit to an angle of 32 degrees.

The driver and front passenger sit in bucket seats with integrated headrests under the glass dome, practically reclining. There are no windows that can be opened. Contact with the outside world – and fresh air supply – is only possible via two tiny sliding openings in the side frames of the dome. The expansive dashboard features two large instruments with unconventional displays. The hands are fixed, but the cylindrical dials rotate instead.

The kink in the bonnet is due to the 1.2-litre Alfa Sud engine located underneath. Although it is a boxer engine and therefore very flat, Giugiaro had an extremely low front end with only a slit-shaped radiator grille in mind – the engine simply did not allow for a flat bonnet. The pop-up headlights were virtually obligatory in the 1970s.

Given the futuristic design, the 68 standard horsepower of the Alfasud boxer engine seems downright modest. But the Caimano was not intended for everyday use anyway…

You can find more Alfa models in our archive.