1997 Gigliato Design Aerosa

At the 1997 Geneva Auto Show, Gigliato Design presented a new Sportcar, the Aerosa. Automobili Lamborghini and Gigliato Design were to build this car as a Joint-venture between Japan and Europe. The engine was an exceptional 4.8 Litre Ford Mustang V8, pumping out enough horsepower for this small racecar to arrive at 100 Km/h. in less than 5 seconds.

The car would be entering several races throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States, where it should have posed a threat to the McLaren F1 and Porsche GT1 racecars that dominated their classes.

If this car would become a competitor for the Diablo SVR or GTR model, was yet to be seen; perhaps both cars won't compete in the same races.

Nobuo Nakamura, a Japanese designer, founded the Gigliato Design studio. Gigliato sounds similar to his wife's name, while Giglio means 'Lily.'

Because of the strict regulations, the Aerosa was designed outside of Japan and later imported, and a decision was made to assemble the car in England. In 1997 Gigliato announced a partnership with Lamborghini to deal with engineering, production component supply, delivery, and marketing. The plan was to sell the Japanese-designed car from a headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany. Furthermore, Gigliato announced a motorsports program for 1998, including a stop at Le Mans. At this time, the vehicle was changed to include fixed front headlights and gold wheels.

The Aerosa hasn't been seen recently, so perhaps it will remain a lonely prototype, like so many Lamborghini-based dream cars in the past.

Source: www.lambocars.com; www.supercars.net

Images: Gigliato Design Co., LTD; Jeff Jue; www.special-classics.com