Turin Motor Show in 1974. Italian coachbuilders have their big date. At his stand at Ital Design, Giugiaro talks with some Korean executives about two new models
We are in 1974. The Turin Hall has a special flavor. It is the appointment of the Italian bodybuilders where they, the great masters of fashion on four wheels, the Pininfarfina, Bertone, Michelototti …, show their artisan creations, most of them on models of Italian brands such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat or Lancia.
Giorgetto Giugiaro is another of the great Italian “couturiers” of the automobile. Masterpieces such as the Maserati Ghibli, the De Tomaso Mangusta or the Iso Grifo are owed to him. After working for Bertone and Ghia, he created Ital Design in 1968. For years his style has evolved towards straight lines, sharp angles (they speak of “folded paper”). His designs of the Scirocco and Golf for Volkswagen, do not leave anyone indifferent. And it has just installed its new style center in Turin, in Moncalieri (27,000 square meters of which 12,000 are built) and 150 employees.
This year at its stand in Turin, four new bodies are shown. Two of them use Maserati bases as a starting point. But the other two appear under the Hyundai name. A large part of the public, wonders what brand is that. And when they discover its Korean origin, the surprise increases. However, those who, if they know the economic world, know that Hyundai Group is one of the most important industrial companies in South Korea, and that it has a division, Hyundai Motor Company (born in 1967), which has taken its first steps building Licensed a Ford Cortina from 1968.
The Pony, in saloon body
But what is offered to the eyes of those attending the Turin event has nothing to do with it. Hyundai wants to have its own car. For this, it has turned to former managers of the Austin Morris division of British Leyland, for the conception of it. And to Ital Design for its design.
It has a 1283 cc Mitsubishi mechanic. The architecture of the car is very classic: a front engine that transmits its power to a rigid rear axle. The two bodies shown (a four-door and another coupe), if they are more original thanks to the work of the Giorgetto Giugiaro team.
The Pony (which is how this first Hyundai of its own conception has been baptized), in its four-door saloon body and a length of slightly less than 4 meters, shows a fastback-style rear, a solution much loved by Giugiaro, with an important rear window. rear. However, it does not have a real fifth door but a classic boot lid and the back of the rear seat is rigid, so there is no possibility of modularity. Actually, it is the same solution that was adopted for the first generation of the Volkswagen Passat (1973), another work by Giugiaro. The luggage area had a volume of 420 liters.
Giorgetto Giugiaro
More attractive and sporty, with an undeniable Italian image, was the coupe variant of the Pony, dubbed “Asso di Fiori” (“Ace of Trebol”). The hood was very long, a wide windshield and a large rear window. This was accompanied by an attractive leather interior.
The production Pony makes its appearance in the European markets, Belgium is the starting point, in the year 1979. In catalogs of the time it is shown in the four-door body seen in Turin, with some small changes. Two years later it incorporates a true fifth door or gate, while it appears in a body of three, to which a family member will be added and even in English catalogs we see a pickup.
The engines were those of the Mitsubishi Lancer, built by Hyundai, under license, at its plant in Korea. It was a four-cylinder in variants of 1238 cm³ (with 55 CV) and 1439 cm³ (69 CV).
The Pony had standard features that, given its low price, were surprising at the time. Thus it had a height-adjustable steering wheel, front and rear head restraints, radio-cassette, and a center console.
The first tests of specialized journalists spoke of an agile car, with a nervous engine, good steering, and an excellent, precise and fast change. Of course, they also complained of a noisy cabin and sudden reactions from the rear end on deteriorated asphalt.
View of Giugiaro’s stand at the Turin show, 1974
They were the first steps of a giant in the automotive industry that today is not only among the largest manufacturers in the world but also among the most technologically advanced. And it is not surprising that Hyundai, to remember those first steps, with its new Ioniq 5, an advanced one hundred percent electric car, pays in its exterior design a tribute to that Pony that surprised the public attending the 1974 Turin Motor Show.
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