DeLorean designer’s son creates wild Maserati-based copper wedge
Meet the Peralta D: a Maserati GranTurismo which has undergone a drastic makeover thanks to the design house of the Giugiaro family.
The name Giugiaro should be immediately recognisable to any motoring enthusiast, after family patriarch Giorgetto designed some of the most iconic cars in automotive history.
The BMW M1, DMC DeLorean, Fiat Panda, Hyundai Pony, Isuzu/Holden Piazza, Lotus Esprit, Maserati Merak, Subaru SVX and Volkswagen Golf are among some of his notable works, and in 2015 he established a new design studio with his son, Fabrizio.
GFG Style has already made waves with the Maserati MC20-based Peralta S for one customer in Mexico, and now Carlos Peralta has received his latest custom creation from the Giugiaros, called the Peralta D.
Designed to pay tribute to his daughters – after the S was made for his son – the Peralta D retains Maserati underpinnings, this time with the base of the 2+2 GranTurismo, lending its front-engined, rear-wheel drive platform to the radical commission.
With design led by Fabrizio Giugiaro, there is nothing left of the GranTurismo’s exterior in the Peralta D, as its wild new exterior has been made from copper.
Selected due to being “a noble, malleable, and delicate material”, the bodywork takes on a new meaning of being hand-built, as the entire exterior was hammered manually.
A copper section below the waistline gives way to the mirrored glass upper half, though the carbon-fibre structure supporting it is hidden, as is the original aluminium chassis.
The geometric pattern of the wheels is said to be inspired by the 1970s, though the anthracite black finish was selected to enhance the visuals of the bodywork.
It’s when the doors open that it starts to get even weirder, with the front half of the cabin opening like a clamshell, or a ‘dome’ as GFG Style calls it, while at the rear there’s a gull-wing style mechanism, throwing back to not only the DeLorean but also the De Tomaso Mangusta.
Inside, the cabin is just as extreme, with its leather and Alcantara upholstery on the seats, dashboard, and panel inserts featuring a metallic effect to reflect the copper finish of the body.
While the driver gets their own digital instrument cluster and two screens for the mirror cameras, the passenger compartment features a make-up station, as well as a monitor incorporating an “illuminated mirror and dedicated compartments for cosmetics”.
To truly honour the GranTurismo’s grand touring heritage, there’s also a hidden retractable refrigerator in the centre console, claimed to be capable of holding four matching copper champagne glasses, as well as a bottle of bubbly.
GFG Style hasn’t said how much the commission cost, but it’s likely to not have made too big of a dent in the wallet of the Jaguares de Nayarit baseball club owner.
