What is it? Who made it?
It's a concept car, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1971. A version became drivable the following year, and still putters around the Riveria.
How is it made?
Giugiaro famously said it was “drawn almost exclusively with a ruler”, and pure lines are everywhere in this incredible wedge shape. A straight path traces from nose to roof, crossing the perilously shallow windshield rake of 13 degrees. The sunroof maintains flow until meeting a mid-mounted engine. From any angle, the profile is magnetic. It has inspired everything from the Lotus Esprit that followed, to squadrons of Italian marque supercars - and even the Delorean DMC-12.
Giugiaro designs today, as as he did then -
"I still use the same process based on mathematical master models using a draughtsman’s board. I do the colourful drawings afterwards, not before. The sketch is the starting point from which a 3D model will be designed. All the steps are there in the drawing. Once the final decisions are made on paper then the model is built"
Q&A at Caredesignnews.com
Dimensional drawing of the Boomerang found Pinterest via carbodydesign.com
Why did I pin this?
I have real affection for the materials and forms of aerospace in the 60s and 70s. Raw steel, delta wings, slender profiles and the optimism of supersonic design. The Boomerang feels ready to lift off, some earth-bound ancestor to the Buck Rodgers Thunderfighter or the Star Wars Snowspeeder that I coveted as a child.
There are also plenty of small touches to linger on. At rest - the geometric wheel hubs could be from a Frank Lloyd Right Ennis House driveway. At speed they re-enforce the angular nature of the bodywork. And still worthy of a magazine cover over forty years later.
Louis Vuitton Winter Campaign
And then there's the steering column - both brilliant and bonkers. The instrument cluster is inside the wheel, which apparently has safety benefits in the event of crash, but I'll just leave it there as a monument to pilot dreams.
What did I learn?
To be honest, more about the man than the machine. Guigiaro's method is tested, strong - and simple.
"Have plenty of goodwill and be knowledgeable about all the technical possibilities to fulfil a dream. Because dreams must be possible."
