The Hyper-Stylish Italian Built Bandini Dora & Desert Raid

Bandini Dora

The all-electric Bandini Dora has the unique ability to look like a small compact sports car from some angles, while also offering features that you might expect to find on a supercar – like the Bandini take on gullwing doors for example; ‘scissor’ doors that slide up and forward, allowing for use in tight spaces.

The roofless wonder also has the unique ability to look like it is a hardtop when viewed from the side thanks to it’s elongated A-pillar design. Yet it isn’t – it doesn’t have a roof; the Bandini Dora is a speedster in the true classic sense of the word. It seems that the ambiguous fluid design is the most intriguing aspect of this car – it has an ability to look like a different class of sports car depending on your viewing angle, from small, Toyota or Renault style cabriolet when viewed from the top, to some long forgotten Ferrari design when viewed low and from the side.

The Dora effectively combines curves with sharp lines and sits on an aluminium spaceframe chassis – and that windscreen plays its part too, it is a work of simple, curved art. While its looks have dominated most of the reviews so far, the Dora does have some decent EV credentials too, with twin electric motors pushing out 536bhp (combined) and 500 lb ft torque, with a 0-62mph of just 3.3 seconds, while range is just under 300 miles courtesy of its 90 kWh battery pack. Inside the carbon fibre and leather festooned Dora, both passenger and driver are separated by a central tunnel/spine.

GFG Style Desert Raid

The 2030 Desert Raid sits on the same spaceframe as the Dora and has the same drivetrain, but this is a different beast altogether; this is a what GFG Style call a Hyper SUV. What’s that? Well, aside from having a hint of Mad Max about it, the 2-seater Desert Raid is based on the company’s Vision 2030, but with improved ground clearance and various drive modes for all sorts of different challenging terrain. The name tells all really – it pretty much exists to give you some sporty driving fun in the desert. A distant, modern cousin of the beach buggy if you like.

The electric SUV doesn’t miss out by just having your basic standard door openings either, as the Desert Raid also has a kind of flip-top lid. These are 2 panels that flip up from a central position for both driver ands passenger, allowing easier access. Being an SUV, 0-62mph is 0.5 of a second slower (though I had to think twice about even mentioning that) and top speed is a claimed 155mph.

It must have been a worrying period of time for GFG Style, the relatively small automotive company founded by Fabrizio and Giorgetto Guigiaro and based in Moncalieri, Turin. Not only do they have to deal with the current pandemic situation in Italy, but they have also revealed a pair of vehicles that until now appear to have slipped ever so slightly under the radar. Thankfully, momentum is gathering pace and the Bandini Dora and Desert Raid are now getting some welcome coverage.

GFG Style operates out of two buildings, and they say that they can specifically concentrate purely on new and innovative ideas at the company’s Styling Centre, which has access to the latest technology including virtual reality. If the images of the buildings and working environment are anything to go by, it’s no wonder that GFG Style appear to be offering some uniquely intriguing products like the Sibylla and the Kangaroo, as well as the Bandini Dora and Desert Raid.

No pricing or release information as yet from GFG Style. I suspect such further information will now be put on hold until the world economy is once again more stable.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!