They say that the earliest design language for the primitive is that of repetition and symmetry. Regarding the design of "things that move", history gives us quite a catalogue of proposals to improve the breed by echoing a form across some sort of bridging element. With names like "twinpod", "twin-boom", "twin-fuselage", "doublehull", or "catamaran", the designer's fascination with mirroring a good idea has been around ever since the Garden of Eden, when God decided two breasts looked seriously cooler than one.
Car Designers owe the origins of their craft to the hull-lofting techniques of naval architects, and while it is true that for centuries there have been parallel-hull designs for boats (from a Tahitian out-rigger to a divided hull that Da Vinci sketched), the real inspiration for modern twin-fuselage wheeled machines are the aircraft of World War II. (To be fair, the twin-boom Fokker M.9 was of World War I vintage.) Pilot and aircraft aficionado engineer Mollino must have been highly influenced by innovations from the War, and perhaps he knew that German engineers had prototyped a Messerschmitt Bf 109Z-1 "Zwilling" with a single pilot flying a two-fuselage fighter. Certainly, the sexy Lockheed P-38 inspired his generation of Car Designers as did the F-82 "Twin Mustang", which was built from 1946 to 1953.
![The left-hand body section
houses the engine and
transmission, while the righthand
side contains the highcapacity
fuel tank and the
narrow cockpit. The two body
sections are joined together
by reticular structures in
lightweight tubular metal. The left-hand body section
houses the engine and
transmission, while the righthand
side contains the highcapacity
fuel tank and the
narrow cockpit. The two body
sections are joined together
by reticular structures in
lightweight tubular metal.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_1316_DO110921003_UPD2.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Conceptually, the car
appears distinctly inspired
by the Tarf bisiluro. Made
by Piero Taruffi in 1948,
the record-breaking Tarf
exploited the excellent results
achieved on two wheels with
streamlined motorbikes.
Hence the coupling of the two
car bodies. Conceptually, the car
appears distinctly inspired
by the Tarf bisiluro. Made
by Piero Taruffi in 1948,
the record-breaking Tarf
exploited the excellent results
achieved on two wheels with
streamlined motorbikes.
Hence the coupling of the two
car bodies.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_8920_DO110921006_UPD2.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Design-wise, the Bisiluro fits into a category I would call “Non-Car Cars”, those purposeful objects that stir the imaginations of Car Designers.
![The connection between the
two bodies was substantially
thickened to make room for
an aeronautical-type radiator,
formed by an air-water
thermal exchanger made
with thin copper fins. The connection between the
two bodies was substantially
thickened to make room for
an aeronautical-type radiator,
formed by an air-water
thermal exchanger made
with thin copper fins.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_3769_DO110921001_UPD2.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The lower half of the
steering wheel is flat,
allowing the driver easier
access to the cockpit. The lower half of the
steering wheel is flat,
allowing the driver easier
access to the cockpit.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_5432_DO110921007_UPD2.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The central part of the
car houses an ingenious
aerodynamic brake
consisting of a pair of flaps.
The mechanism is operated
via a system of levers
actioned by a pedal to the left
of the brake pedal. The central part of the
car houses an ingenious
aerodynamic brake
consisting of a pair of flaps.
The mechanism is operated
via a system of levers
actioned by a pedal to the left
of the brake pedal.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_7477_DO110921005_UPD1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![The
Bisiluro was the product of a
collaboration between Carlo
Mollino and Mario Damonte,
Enrico Nardi and the Giannini
brothers. The
Bisiluro was the product of a
collaboration between Carlo
Mollino and Mario Damonte,
Enrico Nardi and the Giannini
brothers.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/09/12/the-asymmetric-racer/big_358167_1722_DO110921002_UPD1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Chris Bangle, car designer