1988 – Italdesign Aztec

The Italdesign Aztec preserved in the collection is one of the most recognizable experimental projects of Giugiaro, developed to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Italdesign.

Presented in 1988, the Aztec reinterpreted the idea of the open two-seater sports car through an entirely unconventional architecture. Driver and passenger occupy two separate cockpits, each protected by its own small windscreen and connected visually by the central structure of the car.

The extremely low body, exposed wheels and strongly geometric surfaces give the Aztec the appearance of a road-going speedster conceived through the language of advanced technology. Its design combines aerodynamic research with an almost aeronautical approach to the passenger compartment.

One of the project’s most distinctive aspects is the relationship between the two occupants: although physically separated, driver and passenger are connected through an internal communication system, turning the traditional shared cockpit into two individual but interconnected spaces.

The Aztec therefore represents a particularly radical moment in Giugiaro’s design research, where architecture, technology and visual experimentation converge in a car conceived less as a conventional sports model and more as a vision of future mobility.