The car is designed according to basic parameters, but its kinship with the earlier model still shines through. It offers sturdiness and quality at low production costs. The most apparent architectural feature is the slender, curvaceous rear which runs down into the light cluster, reiterating one of the most sharply distinctive traits of the previous version. Giugiaro worked in close collaboration with Seat's Martorell-based styling centre to create a front in connection with the Toledo - not with a classic plastic monobloc bumper but, rather, a complex structure of several steel elements covered by a stylish plastic shell painted the same colour as the coachwork.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, as part of Genoa's celebrations, Giorgetto Giugiaro decided to start work on the Columbus, a "sailing ship for dry land," a seven-seater MPV VAN.

Also in 1992, Giugiaro contrasted the solemn but equalizing proposal of the Columbus with a thorough, well thought-out investigation into the smart city car, a minimalist model as a public/private means of transport for use in urban centers where traffic regulations apply.

With the Biga, released at Turin in 1992, Giugiaro plunged himself extremely skillfully and with "goliardic" freshness into researching a city car with electric traction, reduced to the essential and fitted with a hybrid engine, which could be rented and operated using an electronic card.

The Biga made its mark, not only as a vehicle for the city but also as a vehicle of the city (managed directly by the city council or outsourced to another partner). The small cube (2.3 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.8 meters tall) had a pre-painted stainless steel body that was extremely resistant to corrosion, very lightweight, and easy to assemble, repair, and recycle.

A large door at the rear provided access to the passenger compartment, which could comfortably accommodate four/five people including the driver. The passengers were seated facing each other: one or two on the seat behind the driver and the rest on the bench on the right-hand side, with a folding seat to accommodate wheelchairs and prams.

More than three decades have passed, and just some of the innovative ideas offered by this concept car have been taken up by current car sharing vehicles.

For years Giugiaro had been looking to build a major vehicle that would fit into the American landscape - not to mention the stateside sales context. His idea was for a tastefully appointed prestige vehicle, capable of turning heads and offering much more than the laughable, overlong, top-heavy limousines American executives and VIPs invariably use on the occasions that count. Columbus, then, is a rangetopping single-box van with a carbon body, 4-wheel steering, permanent 4x4 traction and a 12-cylinder BMW engine. It boasts the most generous ride space and a distinctly idiosyncratic line. Its most innovative feature is the ease with which it exploits the one-box typology's innately multifunctional potential. It was presented as a 7-seater space wagon, an alternative to traditional limousines and the official cars of the latest generation. With just a few simple changes to the interior trim, though, it turns into a 9-seater people-carrier or, removing the seats altogether, a commercial van.

The operations carried out consist mainly of upgrading the engine, reducing the weight and making a few aesthetic modifications for technical reasons. The engine is the BMW V12 5-litre tuned up by Alpina and delivering 350 HP in a central longitudinal position. Its kerb weight has been limited to around 1000 kg by optimizing the weight of mechanical and body components and spreading the weight between the front and the rear axles. The extra 50 HP and the weight reduction of about 100 kilos compared to the original Nazca M12 guarantee even better performance and explain the C2 code name identifying the new prototype, a clear allusion to Group C cars. The spirit of elegant plainness which had guided the definition of the first version of the Nazca M12 styling remains the same also in the styling development of the Nazca C2. The new prototype without doubt looks more aggressive - in fact the accent has been placed on those details that at first sight hint at the prototype's sporty features - but any gratuitous exaggeration has been avoided.