BMW Nazca C2
| BMW Nazca C2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Italdesign Giugiaro under license from BMW |
| Also called | ItalDesign NAZCA C2 |
| Production | 1991–1993 |
| Assembly | Turin, Italy |
| Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign Giugiaro |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Concept car / Sports car (S) |
| Body style |
2-door coupé 2-door spider |
| Layout | Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
5.0 L Alpina tuned M70B50 V12 (Nazca C2) 5.7 L Alpina tuned M70B50 V12 (Nazca C2 Spider)[1] |
| Transmission |
5-speed manual 6-speed manual (Nazca C2 Spider) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,600 mm (102.4 in) |
| Length | 4,395 mm (173.0 in) |
| Width | 2,085 mm (82.1 in) |
| Height | 1,105 mm (43.5 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor |
BMW Nazca M12 BMW M1 (spiritual) |
| Successor | BMW i8 (spiritual) |
The BMW Nazca C2 (also known as Italdesign Nazca C2) was a concept sports car introduced at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. The car was designed by famed automotive engineering company Italdesign, home of Giorgetto Giugiaro, and features a similar frontal design of a BMW. It was an evolution of the BMW Nazca M12 from 1991. The engine used was a modified version of the 5.0 liter V12 used in the BMW 8 Series tuned by Alpina. It originally had 350 hp (261 kW; 355 PS). The car had a top speed of 193 mph (311 km/h). The car's aesthetic features included Semi gull-wing doors, full glass top and all carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer construction, with a design inspired from the Group C cars of the 1990s.
Three cars in total were produced including the M12. The car was intended as an official replacement for the BMW M1 sports car from the '70s - '80s, but BMW was hesitant at producing another mid-engined super car after the M1 flopped, so they pulled the plug. BMW allowed ItalDesign to use their name and grill solely on the 3 concept cars built.
Nazca C2 Spider
At the 1993 Formula One Grand Prix held in Monte Carlo, Italdesign introduced a new, slightly redesigned version of the C2 called C2 Spider. The car had removable glass panels instead of the semi-gullwing doors featured on the coupe, turning it into a roadster along with a removable engine cover. The removable parts were housed in the luggage compartment in the front of the car and could be quickly reinstalled. A roll bar in the colour of the car was fitted in order to reinforce the chassis to compensate for the loss of removable glass panels. The intake manifold of the engine was redesigned in order to allow for open air operation. The car was fitted with an enlarged version of the 5.0 L M70B50 V12 engine featured on the Nazca C2 coupe with the capacity increased to 5.7 L and the power uprated to 380 hp (283 kW; 385 PS), a 6-speed manual transmission was installed instead of the 5-speed gearbox of the coupe to better cope with the increase in the power.
Other media
The Nazca C2 Spider appeared in the 1997 video game Need For Speed II SE. The original Nazca C2 appeared in the PlayStation version of the 1998 video game Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The original Nazca C2 also appeared in the 1996 Italian film A spasso nel tempo along with the Italdesign Machimoto and the Aztec. [2]
References
- ↑ "Italdesign Nazca C2 specifications". Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ↑ "Appearances of the Italdesign concepts in the Italian film". Retrieved 20 February 2018.