Giovanni Michelotti?
Many car fans also don't know what to do with this name.
The man was a designer of superlatives.
Roughly speaking, Michelotti shaped or at least helped shape the appearance of around 1200 vehicles (including 192 Ferrari models).
This makes him one of the most hardworking and productive car designers ever. And - despite this immense creativity - at the same time probably the most underrated and the most unknown. The reason: Michelotti mostly worked for design firms such as Bertone, Ghia or Vignale, which is why his own name rarely appeared. There were exceptions, however. One of the most striking was the Matra Laser Michelotti from 1971.
The flat two-seater with the filigree gullwing doors and the extreme wedge shape was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971. The car had everything that seemed new, exciting and admirable at the time. And it was also unlucky: Because the Lamborghini Countach from Bertone and the Maserati Bora from Pininfarina were also presented at the motor show - the Matra Laser only played an outsider role alongside these two spectacular sports cars. And so Michelotti was once again overshadowed by the big names in the industry.
However, that in no way diminished the charisma of his design. The car, which is only 1.08 meters high, looks like a carefully sharpened blade. The generous glazing conveys a sense of lightness, the almost complete absence of ornaments makes the car look concentrated and powerful. The front headlights can be folded out, and there is a curved, continuous tail light strip at the rear. Michelotti simply did without exterior mirrors in this unique piece.
Technically, the Matra Laser is based on the mid-engine sports car Matra M 530, of which around 9,600 were built between 1967 and 1973. That means: The prototype Matra Laser also had a 1.7-liter V4 engine from Ford that developed 73 hp and allowed a top speed of around 180 km / h. In order to supply and cool this motor in front of the rear axle - and also the rear brakes - with sufficient air, the door sills had to be extremely wide. Through them, air was led into the stern in large ducts on both sides.
The Matra laser remained a one-off. However, the successor to the M 530, the Matra-Simca Bagheera from 1973, was at least reminiscent of the wedge-shaped concept car: the flat sports car (height 1.18 meters) also featured a mid-engine layout, pop-up headlights and a large, glass tailgate. The three-seater became known nationwide when the ADAC awarded it the "Silver Lemon" in the spring of 1975, a despicable prize for the "new car with the worst factory defects".
None of this had anything to do with the outstanding Michelotti design of the Matra Laser study.
The car wedge, which was first painted yellow and later silver, was one of the style-defining vehicles of the early 1970s.
In 1972 it was shown again at the motor show in Monteral, Canada, after which it was in a car museum, later it was considered missing.
Until 2009, when the slim study suddenly appeared again at the Concorso d'Eleganza in Tokyo.
It is not known which owner is currently part of his collection.
