IDEA ERA Barchetta Concept – Built in just 30 days

On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Italian engineering and design house IDEA, developed an all-new Barchetta concept car dubbed “ERA” that will be presented on May 19 at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Turin, Italy. Built from scratch in just 30 days, the two-seat barchetta concept is inspired by racing cars from the 1940s. IDEA’s management took the decision to create the commemorative concept for its 30th anniversary on April 8, 2008 giving its design team a week to come up with a proposal. On April 15 the design was chosen and IDEA began working round-the-clock to have the car ready in 30 days time.

According to IDEA, the ERA which measures 4300mm long and 1840mm wide could have two possible technical layouts: front-wheel-drive with a transversal four-cylinder engine or (the proper) rear-wheel-drive with a longitudinal V-6 engine.