A Side Trip to Bologna
In mid-August, I picked up the mail and noticed an elegant looking envelope from Tonino Lamborghini. It contained an invitation to attend the grand opening of a new business venture. The event was to be held just north of Bologna in the town of Funo and was something I decided was important enough to attend. (It helps that my oldest son works for an airline and my wife and I have flight privileges). So Elise and I left San Diego on the 14th of September and landed in Milan on the morning of the 15th. A two hour drive later in a Fiat Punto and we checked in at the hotel in Bologna. Thursday was dedicated to the mandatory tourism, shopping, and the pursuit of great food and wine. But on Friday, we drove to St. Agata and met for lunch with Valentino Balboni. We spent a delightful two-hours in the village of Nonantola discussing our favorite cars, eating some exquisite Italian cooking, and chatting about the happenings at the factory. The exquisite lunch and Valentino’s great company made the long trip a small price to pay. But the following evening, the main event took place as scheduled at the Palazzo Vignola in Funo and we finally got to see what Tonino’s new business was all about. The Palazzo Vignola, by the way, is a 15th century building that was designed by the famous Italian architect, Giacomo da Vignola. Tonino spent several years and a lot of Lira restoring the estate and it is now a stunningly beautiful structure surrounded by a stand of tall trees in the Italian countryside. The lower floor was filled with tables that were loaded with an incredible variety of choice morsels, wines and champagnes (including some Lamborghini wine), all of which was served by gentlemen in tuxedos and white gloves. At about 9:00 PM, the announcement was made for everybody to assemble at the front of the building. Suddenly, floodlights lit up the sky and man-made fog billowed up from a stage located between some large trees. Music blared from hidden speakers in the area and black curtains were lifted to reveal two very compact automobiles. Yes – Tonino is in the car business!
Town Life automobile is an enterprise founded by a group of businessmen in 1999 with Tonino Lamborghini as the President of the Company. The Company was set up with the objective of producing city cars which, in a European setting, are small and compact cars suited for the ancient and crowded European city centers. Most of the large city centers date back centuries and reflect an original road plan made to accommodate carts, not cars. This factor contributed mightily to both increased pollution and congestion and, particularly in countries such as Italy, France, Spain etc, it has created a parking nightmare.
The driving situation become so untenable in the center city areas that about 15 years ago, the local authorities of major Italian cities decided to divide their respective cities into various sections, set out in concentric circles, the smallest of which focused around the heart of the city. In Europe, this is invariably the most ancient part of town. They decided that the designated area should have limited traffic, strictly for residents. This ruling caused an economic and cultural shock wave simply because it is these same areas that contain many of the upscale shopping districts as well as a dense, upwardly mobile population segment. The situation in some cities became so bad that the center was completely closed off to automobile traffic.
At the present time, this situation is unchanged if not worse. Which leads us to the origin of Town Life concept: it is a reflection of market demands for an automobile suitable for use in these city centers. Another factor in the market equation is the extensive use of scooters as a primary mode of transportation in the central areas. Scooters solve the problem of mobility in tight quarters and they can usually find a parking spot where no car can go. However; they are inherently dangerous and are the cause of a large number of injury accidents (and deaths) in Europe every year.
Ginevra and Helektra, the two models produced by Town Life, are the result of examination of market demands and provide a considerable package of user benefits:
a. They can be driven by 14 year-olds without a full driving license. This applies to young people who may avoid the risk posed by a motor scooter as well as for older people who might have lost a full driving license.
b. Their minimal dimensions make them easy to handle and park: two of our cars fit into the space normally occupied by a full-size sedan.
c. Both versions can be driven within city centers. Ginevra has a Diesel engine and uses biodiesel (non polluting) fuel. Helektra runs on batteries which is likely to be where the future of cars will go at least for city centers in Europe. [Editor’s note: Ginevra is the name Tonino’s eldest daughter and Elettra is his youngest. For those of you who don’t believe in coincidence, note also the initials of Town Life correspond to those of Tonino Lamborghini! And one more interesting aside, Ginevra is also the name of the place where all Lamborghini automobiles except the Urraco were officially introduced to the market].
d. The cars comfortably accommodate two people and have ample room for luggage or whatever else.
e. The price ranges from 15.5 Million lire (basic version) to 18.9 Million Lire (fully optioned). [About $8,400.00 and $10,240, respectively].
f. There is one version whose interior is dedicated to ladies (Dani admits it was fun being a contributor to the design of that model) where seats are covered with a high-tech material made to reproduce snake skin in all sorts of fun and attractive shades.
g. The cars are extremely stable owing to the low center of gravity, and they use materials such as carbon and glass fibers for the body shell.
Town Life has its commercial offices in Funo, just north of Bologna, and a production plant located in Umbria, in Magione. A pre-production run will see 50 units out before Christmas and about 800 units produced in the year 2000. Although the product was first shown at the Palazzo Vignola gala, the official debut on the car market will be at the Bologna Motor Show in December 1999.
After the cars were presented, a full dinner was served and more wine was poured. We talked with Tonino and Luisa (who is expecting twins in late October) and took some photos.
Finally, we said our thanks and goodbyes to Tonino and Luisa and drove back to Bologna for a few hours sleep before heading to Rome and the long trip back home. It was truly a memorable trip and I can hardly wait until the next trip to Italy.