Retrospective: 1973 Audi Asso di Picche concept

By: George Achorn, photos by George Achorn & Denis Podmarkov

In the early 1970s, automotive design was beginning to make a fundamental shift. The voluptuous curves of the 1950s and ‘60s had begun to fall out of fashion, while the soon-to-come fuel crisis hadn’t yet prompted car manufacturers to dig deeply into the study of aerodynamics. At that time, a new wave of geometric design, with wedges and boxes, began to take root in the highly influential Italian design houses, and at ground zero of that shift sat Giorgetto Giugiaro and his Turin-based Italdesign studio.

By 1969, Giorgetto Giugiaro had established himself as a talented designer, having worked years at Bertone and Ghia. He’d learned a considerable amount in that time, using the experience to set out on his own with the opening of Italdesign just a year prior. Though his studio then was fledgling, his experience ensured that Italdesign hit the ground running. So, when Volkswagen President Kurt Lotz approached Giugiaro to design a family of cars to help the German marque reinvent itself in the wake and wane of the iconic Beetle, the Italian designer found the challenge hard to refuse. That resulting Volkswagen contract included designs for the Golf Mk1 (a.k.a. Rabbit), the Scirocco Mk1 and the B1 Passat.

Work began on the trio of Volkswagens, combining practical needs with meaningful designs and all-new language for a brand in desperate need of evolution. At the same time, Italdesign also carried forth with other clients. Exotic and now iconic concept cars were part of this work – cars like the 1972 Maserati Boomerang that demonstrated Italdesign’s design and construction skills. The Boomerang was displayed as a roller at the ’72 Torino Motor Show before a drivable version of the incredible silver wedge wowed fans at the ’73 Geneva Motor Show.

The raw potential that Italdesign’s influence exhibited in those cars was obvious, inviting suitors like Colin Chapman, who sought a design for his next Lotus – one that would become the Esprit. Another client who came knocking was Wilhelm Karmann, owner of the independent automobile production factory in Germany, looking to further business from OEM clients like Volkswagen. The pair had already generated the Volkswagen Cheetah concept of 1971 and sought to create something with more of an eye toward production this time around. Interestingly, neither Volkswagen nor Audi were directly involved with the project. Instead, it would become a tangible and drivable resumé for both Italdesign and Karmann.

Given Giugiaro was already working on several VW projects, the technical basis and branding of the project was probably a foregone conclusion. VW had pivoted the Passat project to utilize not just the Audi B1 architecture, but also the front design and the doors to save costs. It’s safe to assume he was already involved with B1, though he perhaps relished the idea of generating something considerably more radical than the more modest three-box Audi 80 B1or the hatchback Passat B1. Giugiaro envisioned a four-seater sports coupe with exotic wedge influences, and it would be named Asso di Picche (Italian for Ace of Spades).

That the car often gets compared to Giugiaro’s Scirocco isn’t surprising. He was designing both at the time, while the quad round headlights, horizontal grille, delta C-pillar fastback and long front with short overhang are all shared with the Scirocco. However, the similarities largely end there. This is especially apparent in person as we noted with the car in a staging area at Pebble Beach. Viewed from a distance further than most museums afford, and from various angles, the car’s similarity to the Maserati Boomerang makes it appear decidedly more exotic.

Like Boomerang, the shape of the body is formed by two opposing isosceles trapezium shells. As a result, it is effectively narrower at the top and bottom, sharing their widest point at the shoulder line. This was chosen for improvements in aerodynamics, accessibility and comfort.

The profile view of the car is most dominantly defined by the outermost peak of the paired trapezia. Its delta-shaped C-pillar was also unlike anything Volkswagen or Audi were producing, especially given that the car predates the introduction of the Scirocco. The windshield rake is notably aggressive, with only a slight difference in angle than the sloping hood. At the nose, the hood flows directly into a color-matched and integrated bumper that cleanly houses the headlights, wrap-around corner markers and horizontal grille.

Given the opposite rake of the windows and the doors, roll-down windows almost seem impossible, yet they do in fact roll down. In fact, the mechanics of the process worked so effectively that Italdesign patented it. Part of that design also involves the windows being bonded from the inside, making for a flush fit and decreasing aerodynamic drag.

Dominating the nose is an air intake running along the hood on the passenger side. A slightly recessed grille houses a simple flat four ring logo that appears more like today’s most recent Audi logo adopted with the Q8 e-tron. A slight duckbill spoiler beneath the front bumper wraps around to pronounced wheel arch flares. At the rear, the low bumper is not integrated and more traditional in appearance.

Inside, a cylindrical instrument cluster like Giugiaro’s Alfa Romeo Iguana is much more unique than production designs, featuring recessed instruments and controls that are surprisingly printed in Italian. The cognac leather seats and door panels with integrated leather carrying bags, not to mention houndstooth roof fabric may lack printed words but come off as no less Italian in influence. A quirky mono horizontal spoke steering wheel, integrating circle designs, offers further artful flourish.

Looking back, it’s fascinating to see just how influential the Asso di Picche was given the independent nature of the project. While Audi wouldn’t put it into production, the car clearly influenced the very successful embracing of geometric design by Audi and Volkswagen through the 1970s and 1980s. Asso di Picche’s influence can also be readily seen in other Giugiaro designs such as the Lancia Delta, the DeLorean and even the more recent Hyundai N Vision 74 concept.

Interestingly, a young Ferdinand Piëch arrived in Turin during the summer of 1972 to fill a design position at Italdesign. This was a time when the Boomerang was being completed and likely while the Asso di Picche was proceeding in the studio. Piëch, being one of the godfathers of quattro, would take an executive position at Audi following his return from Turin. So, one must wonder how much inspiration or ideation surrounding the reinvention of the Audi brand Piëch must have been engaged in during that time. And, while we don’t entirely know, Piëch did tap Italdesign for the design process of the follow-up B2 80 sedan that would solidify Audi as a luxury player and spawn the ur quattro. Piëch even eventually managed the purchase of Italdesign, bringing it in as a subsidiary to Audi in 2010.

As for Karmann, the company would win contracts to build the Volkswagen Scirocco and Golf Cabriolet. Its proficiency in open-top construction also earned Karmann opportunities to build the B3/B4 Audi Cabriolet and B6/B7 A4, S4 and RS 4 Cabriolets. Piëch was still in charge when the VW Group purchased Karmann out of insolvency in 2009. Its Osnabruck facility is now a Volkswagen factory, and Asso di Picche currently resides in a museum there.