By Peter Orosz, Jalopnik
Before the Lamborghini Countach, before the Lancia Stratos Zero, even before the Pininfarina Modulo, there was this, the DAF 55 Siluro. It was a silver wedge of a car with a 1.1-liter Renault engine and a stepless, fully automatic transmission. After its debut at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show, the world of supercars would never be the same.
[partner id="jalopnik"]Yeah, it’s a DAF. The Dutch firm, now known mostly for big-rigs, made road cars until 1975. The wedge-like Siluro is based on the DAF 55, a small family car built between 1967 and 1972. That was back when “small” meant really, really small: The 55 weighed all of 1,687 pounds.
This spaceship wedge was a concept created by the 55’s Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. Its name means "torpedo" in Italian. Mechanically, the Siluro was identical to the production 55, but the shape shook up the contemporary idea of what a supercar should look like.
Michelotti’s dramatic wedge marked the end of the sensuous, curvy supercar of the 1960s. It gave rise to the Lamborghini Countach, Lancia Stratos and the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer, shapes that broke radically from the past and dominate supercar design even now. Just have a look at the Lamborghini Aventador.
Following the car's debut in Geneva, Michelotti kept it until his death in 1980. His son inherited it and used it as a garden ornament, according to a story by Anthony Hazelaar of AutoRAI. The car has since been restored by DAF and featured in its museum in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It recently appeared at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, where the photo and video were shot.
Video: AutoMotoTV/YouTube
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