The Porsche Tapiro is a concept car built by Porsche in 1970. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and has a traditional 1970s wedge design, which critics say somewhat resembles that of the De Tomaso Mangusta. The chassis is based on the Porsche 914/6, and it features gullwing-style doors.^[1]

Specifications

The Tapiro is powered by a longitudinally mounted air-cooled 2.4 liter flat-six engine producing 220 hp (164 kW) at 7,800 rpm, and connected to a 5-speed manual transmission. This engine could propel the Tapiro to an official top speed of 152 mph (245 km/h).^[2]

History

The Porsche Tapiro was introduced to the world at the 1970 Turin Auto Show, in Turin, Italy.^[3] The car made its US debut at the 5th Annual Los Angeles Imported Automobile and Sports Car Show in 1971.

In 1972, the car was sold to a Spanish industrialist who used it as his daily driver. The car was mostly destroyed after it caught fire. Most sources say the cause of the fire was a group of labor activists protesting its owner's labor policies, who planted a bomb under the Tapiro. The bomb exploded, burning the car but not destroying the chassis.^[4] Other sources say the car was involved in an accident and caught fire that way.^[5] The burnt shell was repurchased by Italdesign and is now on display in its Giugiaro Museum.

Legacy

The car's body later inspired the design of the DMC DeLorean in 1981.